0.7.0 means absolutely no Mac games?

Mac support was already on hold. The latest software package that worked with OS X was 0.5.0.1.

The deal just gets worse all the time, huh? :(

"chilton" wrote:
Mac users are a solid half of the Oculus Rift users I know of, if not more.

Interesting. Mac users only account for a single digit percentage of my own downloads, so while that's not going to be the same for every app, it sure doesn't seem anywhere close to "solid half, if not more". Are you really seeing that many Mac users of your own VR works?

While there may certainly be not many gamers out there using Macs, in the art/design/architecture industries, Macs have a much higher representation. For people in these fields like myself, the deal just keeps getting worse.

As as side note, while I understand gaming is where the money is, I think there's a much higher likelihood of applications that push the medium of VR further in unexpected and interesting ways coming from these communities. It's a real shame to see support for this not only pushed to the side but basically terminated.

I guess another pertinent question too is: Will the Oculus CV work with older SDKs (like 0.5.0.1).

At least if it does (of course barring the use of things like the new input devices) then it's not all completely wasted effort since we can still develop for SDK 0.5 and still have a functioning product when the CV is released.

Is there any official word on whether the new HMD will work with older SDKs?

"matte" wrote:
I guess another pertinent question too is: Will the Oculus CV work with older SDKs (like 0.5.0.1).

At least if it does (of course barring the use of things like the new input devices) then it's not all completely wasted effort since we can still develop for SDK 0.5 and still have a functioning product when the CV is released.

Is there any official word on whether the new HMD will work with older SDKs?

No way will CV work. Will have a completely different screen setup and Tracker + the other stuff we don't even know about yet. It's annoying but does make sense from a Developer view. I am sure the Mac/linux guys there are matching the code as best as possible, but they are not releasing to us. The Mac's main issue at the moment is that their is no direct mode. It would be impossible to sell a VR device with all the support and returns that would come from trying to educate people on sorting their screens out.

It may well come in a 10.11 point release or even in 10.12 give the CV1 is not even due till next year.

It's not a major issue yet. And I am sure it will be easy enough for unity and UE4 devs to just export a version when it does come.

You are still going to make most of your money from windows punters either way and of course OSX will be nice in the long run.

My main issue is that I'll have to use windoze to dev in. Windows 10 is looking ok so far once i've worked out how to swap all my mac keys and the other annoyances of Win. But I am not switching for anything else other than to Export test. I'll still be doing 90% on the Mac.

I believe the reasoning behind this is because a gaming pc that's powerful enough for the rift already costs around a grand, and that's if you build it yourself. Is there even a mac out there that comes with a gtx 980 that's under 4 grand? (insert generic jab at Apple being overpriced here :twisted: )

Krabby Patties that cost $100 come with a really nice atmosphere.

"matte" wrote:
While there may certainly be not many gamers out there using Macs, in the art/design/architecture industries, Macs have a much higher representation. For people in these fields like myself, the deal just keeps getting worse.

As as side note, while I understand gaming is where the money is, I think there's a much higher likelihood of applications that push the medium of VR further in unexpected and interesting ways coming from these communities. It's a real shame to see support for this not only pushed to the side but basically terminated.

This is exactly my problem. I work in higher education and have two digital humanities VR projects underway. We're going to have to shift both of these to different hardware, costing us money and annoying funders who we spent two years selling the Rift to as a viable platform.

The decision to become Windows only (ie games only) is staggeringly short sighted and naive.

Ever thought about the fact that there is not a single Mac available that is powerfull enough for VR? Macs have mediocre GPUs and really,really bad drivers which are using a 5 year old (!!!) OpenGL version with all usefull extensions stripped away. Even on the same hardware windows is about 2 times faster due to the much better driver quality and even more if you start to use newer, vendor specific OpenGL extensions.

Stop spewing misinformation.

"MichaelNikelsky" wrote:
Ever thought about the fact that there is not a single Mac available that is powerfull enough for VR?

Oculus has already stated that the specifications are specifically for the Oculus created and sponsored content. People have already created applications with lower requirements that run just fine. Bear in mind that most Laptop (Mac or otherwise) GPUs will still blow a GearVR GPU away in terms of performance, and VR experiences are certainly possible on that platform, so why not a Mac?

"MichaelNikelsky" wrote:
Macs have mediocre GPUs

Mine has a GeForce 750m. No, it's not going to beat a desktop GPU, but again, it can kick the ass of the Note 4 GPU in the Gear VR. And even an Intel GPU, while perhaps 'mediocre' can still power a VR experience depending on the rendering style and engine.

"MichaelNikelsky" wrote:
and really,really bad drivers which are using a 5 year old (!!!) OpenGL version with all usefull extensions stripped away.

OpenGL 4.1 is not state of the art, but neither is it antiquated. Additionally, Metal and Vulkan (if it makes it to Mac) will both allow developers to get far better performance out of their hardware.

"MichaelNikelsky" wrote:
Even on the same hardware windows is about 2 times faster due to the much better driver quality and even more if you start to use newer, vendor specific OpenGL extensions.

Unlikely. Most slowness seen on the mac version of a given app versus a windows version is attributable to developers not optimizing their OpenGL paths as much as DirectX, and the fact that Windows drivers are constantly patched specifically to improve the performance of AAA games.

If you don't want to use a Mac (or Linux) for VR, fine, then don't buy a mac for that purpose. But stop trying to justify the idea that because you don't care about a given platform, it's incapable of serving a purpose for someone else.