The Glade 4.0

Yes and no.

The Oculus SDK only natively talks to the Oculus drivers. ReVive is the 3rd party created injection driver that translates Oculus SDK calls to OpenVR equivalents. I'm not savvy enough when it comes to hardware/software development to know who typically would write the extra code, here -- the analogy would be Microsoft or the hardware manufacturer with similar arrangements like DirectX and video card drivers -- but I think it'd be the hardware manufacturer as part of their drivers.

The problem currently at issue is that Oculus hasn't opened up their SDK API, so the only way to write those drivers (as in ReVive) is to reverse engineer it, probably exposing yourself to potential litigation in the process. Not an issue for some dude who has no assets, but not a fight Valve wants to pick in court themselves.

Actually, I take that back. I think I read that ReVive actually recodes some of the Oculus SDK binaries, so maybe it's not working the way I'm anticipating.

As for Microsoft's store, well.. Yeah, you're right. Because nobody's had any incentive to publish anything x86 on it until now. If I can sell you software and keep 100% of the purchase price, or sell you software through Microsoft and keep 85% (or whatever arbitrary number it happens to be)... I'm going to just sell you software on my own. The Windows store has had no value to add to my software till now. Now, on the other hand, if I let Microsoft take that cut, I can tell my customers that they can buy my software once and get more utility out of it by installing it on both of their platforms, or by using it to play with their friends that don't share the same platform. Or by building in tournament options and friends-list infrastructure (via Live) that I don't have to build and maintain myself. And so on. That might actually be worth giving Microsoft a cut. Especially if Microsoft tells me I basically have to if I want to publish on X-Box in the first place.

If Microsoft's smart, they'll offer to reduce their cut by a bit (say, I keep 90% instead of 85%) if I refrain from selling my software independently on the PC in addition to on the Microsoft store (so I can get my X-Box access). Now, that's an even better deal if I feel like a lot of my customers were going to take advantage of the added value from the Microsoft store in the first place. So there are ways for Microsoft to push this and make it appealing to developers. And if they do that smartly, we'll see a lot of things taking advantage of Play Anywhere, which will rapidly make the Microsoft store suck a lot less.

Then, once it's more than a content-sparse repository of mobile-games-on-PC, we can talk about the perils of Microsoft building a walled garden on a formerly wide-open platform. Which I'm ambivalent about, because on the one hand, closing up the platform is bad. On the other hand, I don't forsee Windows surviving a full-on assault on open distribution via removing the capability to install outside of the Microsoft store somehow (likely in a future update of Windows), and furthermore on that hand, it's not like Valve hasn't constructed their own little walled garden in the open platform, either -- along with EA, Ubisoft, Gog, and so on.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

True, the walled garden issue has been growing on PC for a while. I remember griping when being forced to install uPlay for the first time. I wasn't wrong, but in the long run, they've made them transparent enough that it's functional. The difference here is that for the first time, Oculus is introducing hardware-level DRM to their ecosystem and storefront.

I've used ReVive, and the guy that codes it is amazing, but it's a hack and definitely not a mainstream solution. It's going to require constant upgrading in the DRM arms race with oculus, and there is the potential with every patch that they release that he will be unable to reverse engineer it (or hell, that he just gets tired of the whole damn thing) and then it's off the table. I would never recommend purchasing anything on a store using a hack in that way, with the potential that your purchases can be removed from you at any moment. So once again, that platform (and their purchased content) is in the first truly walled off hardware garden on PC. Pretty dangerous stuff.

I'm still not sure what Oculus's end game is here. There are already multiple hardware vendors rushing to get lower cost and more accessible headsets out for PC, and Vive has definitely sold through a lot of units. If they're going to truly require that every user of their environment owns their hardware, you would think over time (as more and more options become available) their locked market share is simply going to stop growing.

Still, Facebook and Microsoft have a mountain of cash to throw at a problem before getting anywhere near defeat, so we shall see.

I feel like the reason they're walling off based on hardware isn't linked to the Rift, it's linked to the Touch.

The Rift and the Vive are pretty similarly featured. Specs are basically the same, and the Vive actually out-features the Rift when it comes to things like the camera and chaperone.

But look at that last word, and look at how chaperone is driving and defining the room scale experience for developers pioneering that on SteamVR. That's the situation Oculus doesn't want to be in, where their offerings are discounted because they can't deliver necessary features.

Conversely, the Touch is simply more capable than Vive's wands. Go back to the last page and look at the hand UI, and the way it's able to mimic fairly complex gestures down to the finger level. Now consider that Oculus' vision for hand presence includes very natural and intuitive interactions with objects in-game via hand poses and gestures.

If you want to push that as the baseline standard for games on your platform, you have to require that hardware. Or else those features just get ignored and become the Kinect of VR in the name of making your software compatible with your competitors' hardware.

I *think* that's what's going on behind the scenes. If it is, they're doing a terrible job of communicating it, and making all kinds of PR blunders in the process.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

So from this dev talk, it appears that the finger states on the hands are actually inferred from the button state, it's not detecting the actual hand position (For some reason my embed isn't playing the proper time code, skip to 28m 41s to see the blurb that pertains to hand positioning):



I've heard good things about the touch controllers, but Oculus is still focusing very heavily on the 180 degree experience (You will always be facing in one direction, no gameplay behind you), and that's going to limit environments. So far, I haven't seen any capability for touch that hasn't been replicated on the Vive controllers, but obviously, their final state isn't even released yet, so who knows how that's going to change.

Obviously this is the early battle for the standard, but with Oculus not even supporting other devices with their API, I'm not sure how they're equipped to make it a standard (unless their idea is simply "No one will buy any hardware but ours").

Update: ARS just released some data from a demo at E3-
"I still appreciate how the Oculus Touch controller lets you open your fingers while the controller rests in the crook of your hand. It's a nice change from the constant, solid clench you need to maintain on HTC Vive or PlayStation Move controllers. I also like how the controller can detect not just trigger presses, and it also registers a "finger lift" when you move you move a digit up from resting on top of the buttons or triggers."

It's not the button state it's inferring hand position from, it's the "finger lifts" that your final sentence refers to. So, yes, it's not detecting the actual hand position in the sense that it can't tell how far you've lifted a finger, but that it can tell you're moving them at all (and, as your Ars quote alludes, that the controller's ergonomics even allow you to) is a big deal in creating that "hand presence" Palmer likes to talk about.

The first step in making it a standard is ensuring that people demand it. And for that to happen, you have to prod developers into using its special features. To do that, you need to ensure that it's not something they'll prefer to ignore in order to play to a lower common denominator (because if they do, then by definition, you're not going to be the standard).

For now, that means not supporting other hardware inside your platform.

It's a kind of convoluted logic, and I'm skeptical as to whether it'll play out in the market at large, but that appears to be how they're trying to jump-start the cycle. They haven't killed off all their goodwill and name recognition with the mass market yet, even if they've undermined it (with this move) with the bleeding edge enthusiasts. So it might end up working.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I just finished walking through the setup for my Rift, by the way. I have to say, they've got the fit, finish, look, and feel down on this package. The setup program was very approachable and easy to follow along to as it walked me through familiarizing myself with the components, connecting everything up, properly adjusting the fit of the headset, placing the sensor, and so on. The initial demo environments they run you through do a very nice job of exposing you to the very neat things VR can do that nothing else can, like positional aural cues, really selling the sense of scale for large objects, and so on.

And Oculus Home is a nice environment with a good interface. Once I finish downloading Lucky's Tale, EVE: Valkyrie, and Dreamdeck (all free, though in Valkyrie's case it's free because I was a pre-order), I'll skip over and see how Valve's VR storefront compares.

Edit: One slight speedbump in my experience so far -- the camera sensor doesn't appear to like my motherboard's USB 3.0 ports. I'm going to have to look and see if there's a firmware upgrade on my mobo or something. Or, it could just be that the controller is acting up; it's not a spring chicken and it's been doing this thing for ages where after my computer sleeps sometimes the keyboard isn't detected upon wake, so it wouldn't surprise me to find out there's something malfunctioning in the USB controller. Eh, a PCIe add-in USB card will be a cheap addition if I end up needing it. In the meantime, I can use USB 2.x, it just warns me that the tracking quality might be degraded. I haven't noticed any issues yet, but I also haven't yet fired up an "Intense" comfort-rated game yet.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

That's what I've heard about the Oculus package itself, the fit and finish for setup is top-notch. Do you wear glasses? One of the main complaints I've heard is that while it's exceedingly comfortable for non-glasses users, because it isn't really adjustable at the face fit it can be a lot more difficult for glasses wearers.

I've also heard reports of the same camera USB port issues, so hopefully you can find a port/driver that works for you. (If you go the pcie route, be sure and find one confirmed working with the camera, as I've seen reports of lots of the cheaper boards not working as well).

For finger lifting, the buttons are capacitive so they can detect whether your finger is actually on them in addition to pressing a button. My point was simply that it's not actually reading your hand position, it's simply inferring from the limited positions your hand can actually make while holding the controller what state it's in. Don't get me wrong, very cool tech, but likely not 100%.
However, it doesn't take much to get your brain to "buy-in" to VR. Just looking down and seeing my pilot's hands on a HOTAS like the same one I'm holding in real life (in elite dangerous) is amazing, so even being able to guesstimate at your hand position should be incredible.

The good news for us Vive owners is, looking at that information, it's unlikely that that data will be absolute enough to base actual gameplay on. It'll inform presence, but it should be a relatively easy matter to translate the actual gameplay into vive/move controllers. Everybody wins!

Yeah, their support page (that the setup app links directly to when it gives you the error) has a link to a list of known-compatible PCIe cards.

I do wear glasses. The sum impact of my glasses, I've found, has been that putting it on as recommended (back triangle first, then sliding the headset down over my face) is awkward and bumps my glasses. The (again, right there in the app) recommended solution is to don the headset face-first, and then slide the triangle down into place. Works fine, but is more prone to messing up my hair. There's plenty of clearance for my glasses (though I'll concede that I don't wear hipster thick frames or enormous lenses), and the image is still sharp and so on.

Speaking of fit, the headset is *really* comfortable. There's a little weight in the front, but it's distributed nicely and didn't get uncomfortable over time.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

That's probably not an issue when you have a giant thing on your face. I mean, you already look stupid, what's a little messed up hair?

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Holy shitsnacks!

It was an observation, not a value judgement. When I noticed this, I just figured that's one of the factors to suggesting people put it on the other way if they don't wear glasses.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Nice, so it's all about the method of entry!

The Vive headset itself is not as slender/light as Oculus, but once I got the various straps velcroed in place, it falls into place putting it on fairly easily, and is very stable when failing around at full speed playing holoball or space pirate trainer, no slippage.

I was opposed to a built-in headphone solution when I first heard about them including one (as I already have many pairs of very expensive headphones I'd prefer to use), but I have to admit sometimes it would definitely be nice to not have to manage another headset (and the built-ins on oculus have been pretty well reviewed for sound quality).

I'm expecting the Vive's next hardware revision to include them.

Yeah, Oculus rather impressed me with the ergonomics of the built-in headphones, too. They can tilt out for you to put the headset on without jostling them or catching them on your glasses, and then they flip in with just a very light pressure to keep them against your ears. The range and fluidity of the positional adjustment is impressive, you just kind of put the pads where you want them and they stay.

The slight spring-loading on the side strap mounts of the headset itself is genius. Even with the lack of depth adjustment on the faceplate itself, I can definitely see why everybody credits the Rift with the ergo-design win over the Vive.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Hummm, I am near sighted, I didn't need to wear my glasses.

Oh...I just saw the Batman VR game that is going to be PS4 only.... My heart is breaking.

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Raell Kromwell

True, but it's probably a timed console exclusive. So eventually we'll get an awful, AWFUL port of it. Hooray!

Also, you must be less nearsighted than me Raell, because I am as well and I definitely needed mine. I've A/B'd them with and without, and everything is much blurrier for me without glasses.

Hey, last Friday, Oculus announced that it's June update removes the hardware check from the DRM.

ReVive author LibreVR praises them for the consumer-friendly choice, and says he's relieved he can focus on adding driver translation support for more games without worrying about "playing a cat-and-mouse game with their DRM".

Oculus was quick to point out that they're still not providing native support for non-Rift hardware in their Oculus SDK or Runtime, so a third party injection driver like ReVive is still necessary, and may break in response to normal patching and updating of Oculus' software, but they won't be purposefully doing so for the sake of breaking compatibility.

That sounds like a win for everybody, to me. Oculus gets to repair some of the PR damage it did to itself by reversing course due to public outcry, while probably benefitting some economically since the margins are in the distribution, not the hardware sale, so expanding its market for its software platform increases the number of sales they can make on the exclusives they've thrown money at/bought up/developed in-house.

Vive owners (and eventually others when competing PC offerings make it to market) win as they can now access Rift exclusives so long as somebody builds/maintains the injection driver.

Palmer Luckey wins because he's no longer got a glaring broken promise on his record; I'm not sure what the internal discussions looked like, but he can at least pitch the narrative that he's still influential in guiding the endeavor and business strategy despite the Facebook buyout, and this was an internal miscommunication or some corner of the operation acting without vetting its plans with him, and he got it fixed when he became aware of it.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Removing the DRM check was the right move for Oculus to attempt to restore some of it's tarnished image (since their DRM check lasted no time at all before Libre cracked it). I wouldn't expect their sales to increase *much*, simply because it's still a hack and as you've said, they may break it at any time.

Palmer has pretty much nothing but broken promises on his record at this point. One of the hilarious (and oft-updated) posts on Reddit lists them:



The permalink has URL links to every one of his original comments - https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4gfpjk/palmer_luckey_on_twitter_i_prefer_production_that/d2h9uud

Hilariously, even Palmer himself has replied:



Personally, I am amazed that Facebook has not muzzled him yet. Get him a PR manager, have him communicate through them, with approval on everything above his head. Oculus has the cash and market to play the long game, and the public has a short memory. Bury the introductory missteps and move on.

There's a dude that doesn't **** get it. All that and his response is basically "LOL Haters gonna hate"

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Holy shitsnacks!

Madame Tussaud's opens a Ghostbusters: Dimensions tie-in room-scale augmented VR experience. They've built sets to mimic the major features of the virtual environments -- chairs, furniture, etc. -- at a 1:1 scale. And they're using custom headsets and room-tracked guns, along with a computer built into your "proton pack" for cordlessness...

It's $20 on top of the wax museum's normal entry fee. I mean, I'm not going to take a trip to New York for a 10-minute virtual reality experience, but if installations like this show up at closer museums, it sounds fun.

It's probably a really impressive way to introduce completely new people to VR, in any event.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I knew I recognized that branding, "The Void". They're opening a full-scale VR theme park in Utah this fall. http://blog.ted.com/the-future-of-virtual-reality-will-literally-spray-you-in-the-face/

Doing item placement while in VR is crazy immersive. I've seen people drawing their rooms in Tilt brush, etc. Six flags also recently put in a VR coaster.

So, if I wanna build an Oculus PC to be /very quiet/ and SLI 1080 capable.... where are the sites to read up on nowadays? I'd normally go look at Silent PC review for quiet or Arstechnica for system guides but... combining both ;p

Heh

Oculus announced that they're shipping orders in 1-2 days, now, and have completed fulfilling the pre-orders. They're ramping up deliveries to retailers, as well.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I have had my PSVR for about a week now and I am quite happy with it.

Have never used an Rift or Vive though so I can't make any direct comparisons.

How did I miss this thread for four months after this comment? Seriously.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

In other news, I've pre-ordered my Oculus Touch controllers.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Nice! I haven't been following, did Oculus come up with a chaperone type system to keep people from running into everything?