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KevinHart
Participant
May 22, 2014

The Absolute Best Out Of The Box Controller Solution

The absolute best possible controller solution for Oculus is actually to not give us a controller at all. Instead of re inventing the wheel again and running the risk of coming out with something sub par why not just instead give us a cheap positional tracking object that we can attach to a controller we already own.

You cant make a controller that everyone is going to like, but you can make the controller that each individual likes work with the sensor.

why would they do this?
- controllers are expensive! an add on would cost a couple bucks rather than 60$.
- I get to use a high quality input device that I like and already own.
- controllers are risky and can make or break consoles.
- base package is cheaper which most likely means more people choosing to be an early adopter and more money in their pocket to spend on games for the rift.

what do you guys think? good idea or crappy idea?

    18 replies

    Show previous replies
    AlphaOmega
    Participant
    June 10, 2014
    Op your on the right track. Keep diving in to the topic and don't give up.

    If nature has taught us anything it is that there is beauty in simplicity. Normally I would have Ideas to improve on the concept but if you could get that proto-type out for cheapp money its a sure shot.

    Start up a kick starter with the idea GO GO GO.

    Unless you are inquiring about the logistics. In that case Oculus is worth over 2 billion dollers now. I'm sure they are modeling your design as we speak.

    Great Idea.
    flaw
    Up and Coming
    June 15, 2014
    yeah, if you've got a working idea, get a kick-starter and go for gold mate.

    look how much palmer luckey and oculus sold their kick-starter for!
    get your game on ....
    RetroMidget
    New Participant
    June 18, 2014
    I agree. All we actually need is the stempack park of the Stem System. If they were small enough (or a smaller version was offered) then they could even be attached to fingertips if required.
    usb420
    Up and Coming
    June 20, 2014
    the minimal control should include a way to reach into the world and that's it. Movement can be handled by your controller of choice.

    Seems like they could do it by including additional tracking leds. Basically like PSMove but the light is an led you can attach to anything.

    The only problem is the seated experience where your hands might be out of view.
    l1nc
    Up and Coming
    June 21, 2014
    So I am a little confused as to what prompted this post.

    The rift is a monitor with motion tracking.
    Why is there talk about what controller Oculus would include with it?
    It's like asking, "Would you like an Xbox controller with the new tv you bought."
    It can make sense, but if you are buying a tv, well... not so much.
    Yeah I realize we are all mostly using pc, but there are other new possibilities such as android.
    I can't imagine Oculus trying to create a controller, that just seems incredibly redundant.

    Personally I like the hands off approach Oculus currently has. They are making one device and letting everyone decide how to use it best. So I can use my mouse & keyboard, other people can use xbox controllers, yet another group finds they like using the hydra, and yet another developer can create a new input for their angry birds app on android (in 3d...).
    Rifter no. 51.086
    MrMonkeybat
    Up and Coming
    June 21, 2014
    @Link

    Oculus is not selling TV's they are selling Virtual Reality. They have said themselves repeatedly that to launch sucessfully VR needs more than just a good HMD but other things like content and input.

    A couple of pistol grip controllers with lots of IR LEDs along the knuckle guard to make them compatible with the Rifts positional tracking I think would be good.
    KevinHartAuthor
    Participant
    June 27, 2014
    What's wrong with the keyboard and mouse for input? The rift IS a controller already, a mouse to add some extra buttons is all that's needed for a good rift experience. I'm sure some games will NEED a controller but that doesn't mean the rift necisarilly needs it's own controller. Many people are developing software for the Rift that works with the Razer Hydra and is probably awesome but not something the Rift needs to make a good VR experience IMO.

    for example https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=9076&p=120882&hilit=senza#p120882

    have you experienced that? That was awesome!!! No input except from the rift and maybe the mouse a little.

    mouse keyboard and rift is the cheapest possible, most accesible to the general public option. We don't even know what good VR games are like yet IMO


    I would completely Agree with if it weren't for how cheap a 3d mouse could be made.
    MrMonkeybat
    Up and Coming
    June 28, 2014
    For most people the Keyboard sucks, there are bumps over the f and j keys for touch typists but most people are only able to find the space bar reasonably quickly when blindfolded. If you are not using a laptop the cursor keys can be found ok but when using the mouse at the same time it means awkwardly using your left hand on the right side of the keyboard.

    For 3rd person VR like Luckey's Tale a gamepad is fine but for 1st person VR I really like the idea of being able to move the avatars hands or weapons with Hydra/Stem controllers and it would be allot cheaper to get some that used the same tracking system as a the Rift instead of an entirely separate tracking system.
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