Hey Guys,
It's been a good while since I've been on these forums and man, that was a rough stream today. I noticed a couple telling things about OVR's partnership with Microsoft and noticed something huge (if I'm right) that I see no one picked up on yet. I put two and two together after noticing some things, definitely had to share my thoughts and see what you guys think.
Go through some of the images out there on OVR's Half-Moon controller and take a second look at their controller... what do you see?
Now I'm not 100% on this one as the Analog Sticks/Triggers looks slightly different but compare that controller to the XB1's.
I honestly think next week at E3, Microsoft and OVR are going to say the Rift will be supported by XB1 next Spring '16 (hence why we didn't get a release date today so MS can catch people off guard during their keynote). Also, I think OVR's Half-Moon Controller was developed in conjunction or entirely by Microsoft (maybe for OVR giving Microsoft the Rift on XB1 as part of their partnership). If you look even closer, it's has strong similarities to if a XB1 controller was split in half w/ of course some key differences (like the ends looking more like the X360's rounded shape). If you look at the Analog Sticks and Triggers, they seem to really resemble those on the XB1 controller. Also, look at this picture with them side by side...
EDIT: If this image is cut off, check out the full one here... http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/image ... ch18-1.jpg
Here's a better pic of the Triggers... extremely similar to XB1's
An XB1's Triggers for reference...
It jumped out almost immediately but the shape is definitely not the same. There are a couple other shots out there of the triggers and they seem to be very similar and have that glossy look to them. The curves and even material look almost exactly the same as what MS uses on their controllers. Even the fact they use, ABXY (which I know is common) also could help validity to that to some degree.
Today pretty much nearly confirmed OVR is going to support XB1 hence why MS has been so silent this whole time. Probably, OVR as well. I think having this, at least in Palmers eyes, is going to make the Rift more attractive than other HMD's coming soon since it will support 2 mainstream platforms instead of the others only supporting PC but if the Vive nails it out of the park, OVR can forget about it for the start of the VR race. Granted, PC is the best way and it's a damn shame OVR simply isn't as committed to PC as Palmer initially wanted. Seeing Brandon say it's a gamepad when Palmer has been preaching you need specialized input nearly had me laughing in shock that it wasn't a joke when he said that today.
I don't think they ever intended to release in Q1 but due to the Vive blowing everyone away at GDC and pressure from MS and FB to get it out ASAP, I'm assuming they had no choice and had to support the gamepad and let the controller come after since it wasn't yet ready. I think it's much more important to them to win the war but it's like watching a mess with them fumbling towards the finish line to be the ones who get the praise. The fact that not a single person in the audience clapped when they unveiled the Rift was rough to watch and Brendon almost tried to go into salesman mode to recover and keep things going. I give him props for pulling through but I don't think many were impressed by what they showed aside from their shareholders and it's surprising the lack of content they had to show at all.
I really supported OVR like many getting a DK1 and DK2 and was really awestruck that so many things in todays stream contradicted countless things that Palmer has said needed to happen, not too mention Brandon or Nate, but its a damn shame and I personally hope they pull through and launch strong w/ what they've got.
Even if the Vive does deliver and likely exceeds the rift in some ways, as a gamer and game developer, I do hope OVR at least delivers a solid VR HMD experience on PC. Even though XB1 w/ the benefits of DX12 is going to help support more lower/middle-tier VR experiences, to have an HMD that works for both XB1 and PC is pretty rad and I think they can pull it off while not sacrificing anything on the PC end. Their SDK was made (originally) for PC so if anything, it will get ported down to XB1 and maybe have certain features turned off that aren't supported.
But getting back to it. It's all speculation at this point on the partnership, but my guess is I feel 99% sure next week, Rift will be announced coming to PC and XB1 and Half-Moon will be revealed to be designed by Microsoft for next Spring.
I can't wait to go down to E3 next week and see it in person and hope it really is a major step up over DK2 (never tried CB) and how it compares w/ the Vive after all the hype. Anyways, take it easy and hope everyone is doing good! 8-)
It's been a good while since I've been on these forums and man, that was a rough stream today. I noticed a couple telling things about OVR's partnership with Microsoft and noticed something huge (if I'm right) that I see no one picked up on yet. I put two and two together after noticing some things, definitely had to share my thoughts and see what you guys think.
Go through some of the images out there on OVR's Half-Moon controller and take a second look at their controller... what do you see?
Now I'm not 100% on this one as the Analog Sticks/Triggers looks slightly different but compare that controller to the XB1's.
I honestly think next week at E3, Microsoft and OVR are going to say the Rift will be supported by XB1 next Spring '16 (hence why we didn't get a release date today so MS can catch people off guard during their keynote). Also, I think OVR's Half-Moon Controller was developed in conjunction or entirely by Microsoft (maybe for OVR giving Microsoft the Rift on XB1 as part of their partnership). If you look even closer, it's has strong similarities to if a XB1 controller was split in half w/ of course some key differences (like the ends looking more like the X360's rounded shape). If you look at the Analog Sticks and Triggers, they seem to really resemble those on the XB1 controller. Also, look at this picture with them side by side...
EDIT: If this image is cut off, check out the full one here... http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/image ... ch18-1.jpg
Here's a better pic of the Triggers... extremely similar to XB1's
An XB1's Triggers for reference...
It jumped out almost immediately but the shape is definitely not the same. There are a couple other shots out there of the triggers and they seem to be very similar and have that glossy look to them. The curves and even material look almost exactly the same as what MS uses on their controllers. Even the fact they use, ABXY (which I know is common) also could help validity to that to some degree.
Today pretty much nearly confirmed OVR is going to support XB1 hence why MS has been so silent this whole time. Probably, OVR as well. I think having this, at least in Palmers eyes, is going to make the Rift more attractive than other HMD's coming soon since it will support 2 mainstream platforms instead of the others only supporting PC but if the Vive nails it out of the park, OVR can forget about it for the start of the VR race. Granted, PC is the best way and it's a damn shame OVR simply isn't as committed to PC as Palmer initially wanted. Seeing Brandon say it's a gamepad when Palmer has been preaching you need specialized input nearly had me laughing in shock that it wasn't a joke when he said that today.
I don't think they ever intended to release in Q1 but due to the Vive blowing everyone away at GDC and pressure from MS and FB to get it out ASAP, I'm assuming they had no choice and had to support the gamepad and let the controller come after since it wasn't yet ready. I think it's much more important to them to win the war but it's like watching a mess with them fumbling towards the finish line to be the ones who get the praise. The fact that not a single person in the audience clapped when they unveiled the Rift was rough to watch and Brendon almost tried to go into salesman mode to recover and keep things going. I give him props for pulling through but I don't think many were impressed by what they showed aside from their shareholders and it's surprising the lack of content they had to show at all.
I really supported OVR like many getting a DK1 and DK2 and was really awestruck that so many things in todays stream contradicted countless things that Palmer has said needed to happen, not too mention Brandon or Nate, but its a damn shame and I personally hope they pull through and launch strong w/ what they've got.
Even if the Vive does deliver and likely exceeds the rift in some ways, as a gamer and game developer, I do hope OVR at least delivers a solid VR HMD experience on PC. Even though XB1 w/ the benefits of DX12 is going to help support more lower/middle-tier VR experiences, to have an HMD that works for both XB1 and PC is pretty rad and I think they can pull it off while not sacrificing anything on the PC end. Their SDK was made (originally) for PC so if anything, it will get ported down to XB1 and maybe have certain features turned off that aren't supported.
But getting back to it. It's all speculation at this point on the partnership, but my guess is I feel 99% sure next week, Rift will be announced coming to PC and XB1 and Half-Moon will be revealed to be designed by Microsoft for next Spring.
I can't wait to go down to E3 next week and see it in person and hope it really is a major step up over DK2 (never tried CB) and how it compares w/ the Vive after all the hype. Anyways, take it easy and hope everyone is doing good! 8-)
