Forum Discussion
Should I buy a development kit now or wait?
Hello everyone!
I have a question to ask the forum or more so pointed towards the Oculus Rift Dev team.
Roughly how long would the waiting period be if I was to order a dev kit today and would it be
worth the waiting time? Is a consumer Rift version close to being announced or a 1080p dev kit
on the horizon? I am not fussed about the lower resolution model but it would be a shame for me to purchase
the lower resolution dev kit only to have the consumer version or higher resolution dev kit be available for
purchase by the time the dev kit arrives.
I have been an avid gamer for all of my life and have always been fascinated by the idea of a
fully immersible virtual reality environment. I plan on building quite an elaborate simulator, similar
to the ultimate battlefield 3 sim. I am constructing a shed in my backyard which will house my sim.
It will consist of an omni directional treadmill similar in design to MSE Weibulls system ( I will be building this myself). Razer Hydra will be the interaction/aiming device and an ovehead positioning system will keep track of the location
of the player to control motor speed. The final piece of the puzzle if of course the Oculus Rift.
Which brings me back to my question, should I wait or get a dev kit. If the wait for a dev kit is a few months
away that doesn't bother me, more so if there is going to be a release within that period of time.
Cheers!
I have a question to ask the forum or more so pointed towards the Oculus Rift Dev team.
Roughly how long would the waiting period be if I was to order a dev kit today and would it be
worth the waiting time? Is a consumer Rift version close to being announced or a 1080p dev kit
on the horizon? I am not fussed about the lower resolution model but it would be a shame for me to purchase
the lower resolution dev kit only to have the consumer version or higher resolution dev kit be available for
purchase by the time the dev kit arrives.
I have been an avid gamer for all of my life and have always been fascinated by the idea of a
fully immersible virtual reality environment. I plan on building quite an elaborate simulator, similar
to the ultimate battlefield 3 sim. I am constructing a shed in my backyard which will house my sim.
It will consist of an omni directional treadmill similar in design to MSE Weibulls system ( I will be building this myself). Razer Hydra will be the interaction/aiming device and an ovehead positioning system will keep track of the location
of the player to control motor speed. The final piece of the puzzle if of course the Oculus Rift.
Which brings me back to my question, should I wait or get a dev kit. If the wait for a dev kit is a few months
away that doesn't bother me, more so if there is going to be a release within that period of time.
Cheers!
17 Replies
- Don't underestimate the effect of the lower resolution.
If you are playing BF3 seriously enough to dedicate that sort of set-up to it, then the low res will definitely be a factor.
Don't get me wrong, it's amazing as it is, but small things at long distances are *not* it's speciality. HL2 has been very, very playable for me so far, but as soon as I hit a large expanse of outdoor area, the playability suffered. You just can't see things (such as people) that are more than 30 or 40ft away very well.
The pixel count is fine when compared to a regular console/TV set-up, but it's a different thing entirely when the pixels are mm from your eyes.
Where do you live? Maybe it would be worth seeing if someone would give you a demo to help you decide? - i'd actually like to know that too. I'm on the verge of pre-ordering one but I really want to know how far off the 1080P prototype is.
- The 1080 prototype exists - it was shown recently. However, last word from Oculus was that they didn't intend to release an updated developer kit. So you might be looking at Q4 2014 before the consumer version with that sort of resolution is available.
If you're a developer, you should pick up a low res one and get to work - you can get the higher res model when it's available months down the line.
If you're not using it for development, and want to use it as a gaming device, I'd suggest you hold off unless you're happy to accept this isn't the final version and that the resolution is a little low for end users, but it's perfectly adequate for development. - it's more like a hobbyist kit not a dev kit.
The resolution is going to make it seem less realistic but still state of the art. I think if you buy a dev kit even if a new one comes out you can maybe still get $150 resale? - If the consumer release is Q4 next year then I will order the Oculus ASAP.
I was worried that by the time my Oculus arrives a better one would have been available.
I'm not that worried about low resolution, just the time frame of it arriving to my door.
When I get started on the construction phase of my omni treadmill I will start a new thread for
any one else interested in building one.
Cheers fellas! - If you are a dev who already knows how to code and make stuffs with game engines like unity or UDK you may wish to go ahead and preorder.. but there MAY be a second dev kit coming not sure.. its only 300 bucks though so you really cant go that wrong.. just keep in mind that the Rift dev kit DOES have a low res screen its pretty bad.. thats the only major downside to it now.
- My money is on a second dev kit being just a pre-order of the consumer version a few months before they go retail.
As far as the HD screen is concerned I think the longer the wait, the better. Most screens of that size are fine-tuned for battery consumption, something we don't have to worry about. If Oculus can work with a manufacturer and get a screen designed FOR the Rift they can pick and choose features. Even though the Rift is a tiny market in a screen manufacturers eyes hopefully they can see the value in developing specifically for it if the HMD market grows. - I too was thinking to buy the development kit considering the price, particularly if it's rumored that the consumer version wouldn't be out for another year and a half (Q4 of 2014). I was also curious as when one should expect the product to arrive, being here in Australia. I'm guessing around September 2013? Does anyone here in AUS actually have their Rift yet?
Mike. "Pingles" wrote:
My money is on a second dev kit being just a pre-order of the consumer version a few months before they go retail.
There are no announced plans for that, but it would indeed be nice to get an early "beta" consumer Rift (i.e. DK2) before the mass consumer release. If not, the DK1 already accepts 1080p resolution, and we can view the 1080p higher texture quality on a duplicated desktop monitor. So no real need for a DK2, but consumer Rift beta testing for comfort and usability may be a good idea before a mass release.- If they manage to include a positional tracker, wouldn't that need some kind of mass-testing before release? Also might be useful for devs to start adding support for positional tracker?
