Over 24 Rift-exclusive Games Being Funded by Oculus

[Tbone]

It looks like Oculus is making sure there is plenty of content for launch. Gamasutra reports that nearly two dozen games are being funded by Oculus. That should provide quite the library of content, though it's unclear exactly WHEN these games will be launching.

The article sparked a debate on Reddit about whether or not these games should be "Rift exclusive". While some argued that content should not be locked to specific hardware, others argued that it wouldn't make sense to fund your own content only to have it sold on someone else's platform.

Palmer took to the debate himself:

Many of these games have been in development with us for years, long before there were any other significant VR headsets. Buying artificial exclusivity of existing cross-platform targeted games is one thing, funding, co-designing, and co-developing games from the start that would not exist otherwise is another, especially when they have been engineered specifically around our hardware and release cycle through close collaboration with our own software development teams. Remember that until very recently, the task of making VR mainstream fell almost entirely to Oculus, and funding the VR ecosystem was a critical part of that - the games you are just now hearing about have been in the works for a long time. Oculus lives and dies by the success of VR, we can't rely on others to do the heavy lifting required for mainstream success of the medium, especially companies that treat VR as a side project. That strategy does not become evil merely through the existence of competition.

Most hardware vendors put their resources into first party studios and first party content. We decided it would be better to use the lion's share of those resources to work with existing teams that wanted to get into the admittedly risky business of VR development, with the added benefit of not forcing 3rd parties to compete with 1st party titles (a big problem for Nintendo over the last few generations).

I was involved in the debate myself. Personally I think it's the only sensible thing for Oculus to do. As Palmer pointed out, these are games that would not have been made without Oculus funding them. It's unreasonable to think that Oculus should design their content to be compatible with all the competitors. Most people, of course, say it should work with the Vive, but there's also OSVR, AntVR, FOVE, and other HMDs of varying quality. Where is the line drawn between what's "fair" and "not fair". How much quality on your own device would have to be sacrificed if you had to make sure it was viable on other devices?

I think the important thing to note here is that so many games are being developed for VR. Sure Valve will have some exclusive content for SteamVR and the Vive as well, though I don't anticipate nearly as many games for their launch. Time will tell!

[Saint]

So is the oculus the best vr headset coming out?  Trying to figure out which to buy when they come out.

[doublej42]

Given how quickly the steam boxes came out (re never) I'm getting a rift first but I would say wait till as close as possible and what game you most want to play. I'm mostly (only) playing elite dangerous these days so I will get the first one that works with ED.

As for my thoughts on oculus funding games , think of it like halo. No one expects to play halo on your ps4, if you want to play both games get both systems. It's just as ridiculous to have two HMD as it is to have two consoles but I'd say that oculus and vive are farther apart than ps4 and xbone.

[Tbone]

So is the oculus the best vr headset coming out?  Trying to figure out which to buy when they come out.

The two main competitors are the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive (in partnership with Valve). I would check out this thread, Saint.

Here's what I had to say on Reddit about the matter:

I've got an ongoing thread on my website where I'm trying to keep a comparison table up to date. Currently the comparison has to be between the consumer Rift and the prototype Vive+SteamVR.


-Both headsets have dual screens 1200x1080 running at 90hz.
-Both have tracking systems that can use multiple stations/cameras. VALVE is designing towards room-scale. OCULUS is designing around a smaller, simpler setup.
-Both systems will have input. The assumption is VALVE will have SteamVR controllers bundled with headsets like the Vive. These are WANDS. OCULUS is bundling an Xbox controller with a separate purchase for input released a few months later.
-VALVE is using wands with trackpads, triggers, and haptics. OCULUS is using smaller controllers with sticks, triggers, buttons, haptics, and finger tracking.
-OCULUS has a built in audio solution with a hidden microphone and over-the-ear headphones.
-OCULUS has positional audio built into their SDK. VALVE has said they will also have a built in audio solution, but we have not seen it yet (it is not on the prototype).
-Both headsets will be wired to the PC.
-Both will have a platform for distributing/launching games. VALVE will use SteamVR (basically Big Picture mode floating on a screen in front of you). OCULUS will use Oculus Home.
-VALVE claims they will release Holiday of this year, but no date has been announced. OCULUS claims they will release Q1 of next year, but no date has been announced. OCULUS's Input solution will release some time after, in H1 of 2016.
-When asked about price, HTC stated they are targeting "high end" VR and that consumers should expect a "slightly higher price point" considering the large demand and no competition (this year).
-OCULUS has stated they are doing everything to make their device "affordable" and are not interested in making their profits from the hardware alone.

There are things to consider that you will not find on a spec sheet, however. Both Oculus' headset and input solutions are considerably lighter than what Valve has shown us so far, which actually gives them a big edge in my book. Despite Valve being in the software game longer, Oculus has had momentum for three years and has been courting content creators the whole time. At launch Oculus will have a larger library of content to choose from. One of the biggest things for me is that Oculus is a DEDICATED VR company. They will not give up on VR until Facebook gives up and dissolves them. Both Valve and HTC have other products that are going to make them more money and have no reason to keep their focus on VR if it doesn't prove profitable. Valve initially stated that they didn't want to be in the hardware game anyway.

I'm currently leaning towards Oculus. While I understand why HTC would want to mark up the price and take advantage of being the first out of the gate, I can wait a few months and put that cash to better use. It'll take up to half a year for Oculus to "catch up" to everything Valve/HTC will supposedly release during the holidays, but I think it will be worth it. I think Oculus will have a much more polished and consumer-friendly setup. Valve will allow for more customization (alternate headsets and input from other companies), but that makes me worried about the quality overall.

For the average consumer, Oculus is the safe bet. Simple to set up. Affordable. Lots of content. They're not going anywhere. For the rich VR enthusiast who has cleaned out their entire basement for VR, they might be able to put together a better setup with Valve (and sooner).

I think both will offer good VR, so in the end it just depends on what you value more and how much that's worth to you.

[Saint]

Ok thanks guys,  btw how is Elite Dangerous? I've been looking for a good space game to play lately.

[doublej42]

I quit wow after 8 years to play more Elite Dangerous, does that say something?

Elite Dangerous is the most fun I've had sense Euro truck simulator.  That is meant to have all the context it does.

If you think hauling cargo across space to optimize your profit to buy a bigger ship to haul more cargo to buy a fighter ship to hunt pirates sounds fun then Yes its fun.

The rift support is the best I've ever seen. I'm assuming you have extended mode and a 970 or better. I have a 6 year old cpu but I barely get the required 75 FPS.

I think it's mostly only fun to play with friends but at the same time that can be hard.

Sample play:

So recently I switched from cargo hauling to hunting pirates (I shot a cop in the system where I parked my hauler and I can't go back there for a week) In 2 hours of playing last night I managed not to die but had some stolen cargo in my hold and paid more in fines than I made in bounties. It was still fun. I have to bug out once at 5% hull integrity and limped into a station hoping that no one scanned me as I was loaded up on stolen cargo.  They caught me and I had to pay a fine much more than the cargo was worth.

I searched 5 stations for a black market to sell the cargo before I gave up and jettisoned it into a sun.

This isn't a space flight simulator it's a space life simulator. Once I get the credits I'm buyign the fastest ship I can and setting a destination for second star on the right and heading straight on till morning.

(p.s. not proof read, I'm in a rush at work).

http://steamcommunity.com/id/phansoft

[Tbone]

Ok thanks guys,  btw how is Elite Dangerous? I've been looking for a good space game to play lately.

My problem with it is I cannot get the damn thing optimized enough to keep from juddering in Hyperdrive. Their Rift support is several iterations behind the current runtime.

There's a pretty big learning curve, and I can't get motivated to just jump from place to place looking for low/high prices. I haven't tried combat in a while, but it was kinda difficult when I tried it months ago.

The universe itself seems a little repetitious. There's a vast galaxy map, but I can't figure out what my motivation is for me to explore it much.

If you get your settings just right, it does look really cool in the DK2 to be in the cockpit. The UI is really cool and works well for VR.

Maybe with the Windows 10 optimizations it'll be playable on the recommended specs. If they update support to CV1 and Windows 10 and optimize it some more, it might be worth picking up then (if you like space trading games). I wish they made grouping up easier and had more group activities.

[Saint]

Hmm the Rift you tube videos I watched seemed to play smooth on the Rift, maybe it just needs more optimization.

[Tbone]

Hmm the Rift you tube videos I watched seemed to play smooth on the Rift, maybe it just needs more optimization.

You don't see the effect on a monitor. It's an artifact in VR only. It needs to run at 75 fps (which YouTube cannot even display) or the world judders when you move your head in VR. Basically low persistence stops working and the frames aren't feeding into the headset fast enough, giving the impression that the world is lagging behind or stuttering around. Again, you only see this in VR as it is your brain trying to make sense of the world not staying in place where it should be.

[doublej42]

See I'm running a 6 year old cpu and a 970 and get a solid 75 in extended. Any time you want to meet on team speak I can check settings with you. 0.5.0

[Tbone]

Even in Supercruise?? I've taken away orbital lines and everything, and I still get judder in Supercruise.

[doublej42]

In system super cruise is smooth. Jumping between systems is not as smooth and there is a bit of a lag for just a second as the game loads. I'm running it off one of the fastest ssd ever made so that might help.  As for the between system.

Stations do drop me to about 65 sometimes but I just avoid head turning in them as it's not needed.

[Tbone]

What? The stations are where you have to read all the UI on all the screens around you. How do you avoid head movement?

[doublej42]

It's more like a missed frame here and there  I only notice it when I'm looking for it. Direct mode is a double vision blurry mess.

[Saint]

Well I don't have a VR headset yet but I bought the game ED, and I'm loving it so far. I have been only playing in solo mode but have been having fun attacking pirates and interdicting ships and what not. I can see alot of potential in this game, time will tell. I'm sure it would be even better in VR.  I'm still trying to learn everything atm.