General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Vulcan on October 29, 2013, 02:43:58 AM
Title: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Vulcan on October 29, 2013, 02:43:58 AM
For years I've been a fan of Virtual Reality gear, it started in the mid-90's with the Forte VFX-1 headset. Believe it or not back then there was reasonable widespread support for games with stereoscopic 3D and head tracking.
Since then I've also owned an Emagin Z800 (nice) and a Vuzix VR1200 (horrible).
A really smart guy called Palmer Luckey posted some awesome ideas and eventually got a kickstarter project going. The outcome of that was the Oculus Rift VR headset.
What makes the Rift so special? Well the way he does it you get a very very wide field of view compared to older headsets. This makes the games far more immersive. He also did it cheap, us$300 compared to us$1800 for the emagin Z800! So yes I brought one as soon as I could.
The Rift includes a 1280x800 display, and 3 Axis head tracker (tracks Yaw, Pitch and Roll).
Note the the Rift is currently a kind of prototype, a Developers Kit (DK). In 2014 Oculus plan to release a higher definition model with 6 DoF head tracking (both head angle and position).
To use the Rift you need to modify games to 'warp' the display as well as make it steroscopic 3D. Games like Aces High do not do this natively. You also need to get the head tracking talking to the game somehow.
Fortunately there is a lot of community and commercial support coming out.
My Rift was purchased for one primary reason... Aces High. So over the last couple of months between work/fishing/ and hunting I've been tweaking and playing trying to get the perfect AH/Rift setup.
A Razer Hydra has also been added to my collection. This a dual "VR" controller that uses a magnetic base station to measure roll/pitch/yaw/x/y/z positional information from the two hand controllers. One of those controllers has ended up taped to my Rift to provide the positional X/Y/Z head information.
I use TriDef commercial drivers to 3D and 'warp' Aces High.
For headtracking I use OpenTrack (open source) which takes my Rift Yaw/Pitch/Roll and Hyra X/Y/Z data to feed as an emulated TrackIR/Freetrack to Aces High.
End result is I have a VR headset where I can look around, move my head, and see AH in beautiful stereoscopic 3D.
The link below is too a youtube video for a short session of play. Sorry the inset video is slightly out of sync, it's quite hard to get it just right. I also found FRAPS was smacking the framerate back a bit, normally there is zero lag/stutter. Excuse the video quality, it was taking ages to upload so I had to pull it back a bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q51xXnLgj4
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Latrobe on October 29, 2013, 03:44:30 AM
That's awesome Vulcan! I can not wait to get myself the Oculus Rift for Aces High! Did you use TrackIR to play Aces High before? If you did then did you find it easy to transition to the Rift? If not then did you enjoy the head tracking from the Rift? How did you manage to use the keyboard with the Rift on, or did you just ignore using the keyboard while wearing the Rift?
Thanks for putting the video together. Aces High looks like it's going to be a blast with the Rift! :O :salute
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Vulcan on October 29, 2013, 04:43:24 AM
That's awesome Vulcan! I can not wait to get myself the Oculus Rift for Aces High! Did you use TrackIR to play Aces High before? If you did then did you find it easy to transition to the Rift? If not then did you enjoy the head tracking from the Rift? How did you manage to use the keyboard with the Rift on, or did you just ignore using the keyboard while wearing the Rift?
Thanks for putting the video together. Aces High looks like it's going to be a blast with the Rift! :O :salute
Never used trackir, but this is the 3rd VR headset I've used with AH. I go purely HOTAS with the Rift, no keyboard.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Nefarious on October 29, 2013, 06:35:54 AM
Go ahead! Take my money! That is some cool stuff!
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Bizman on October 29, 2013, 08:55:03 AM
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I've been dreaming about those devices for over a decade, not being wealthy or motivated enough to get one. Yet...
For those unfamiliar with stereoscopic 3d videos, they can be viewed by crossing your eyes. This method will produce three images, the middle one being 3d. With a little practice it is possible to change your focus into every corner of the center picture. Yet one hint: Take a piece of cardboard, preferably size A4 or Letter, rather dark than white. Cut a hole of 2in x 2inches in the middle of it. Place the cardboard at a foot length of your face and look at your monitor through the hole. Experiment with the distances to optimal quality. I could watch Vulcan's video on full screen with my 30" monitor without any problems. It's much easier to eliminate the side images and also less straining to your eyes. One side note: The image will look like the monitor were pivoted!
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: wpeters on October 29, 2013, 10:41:14 AM
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I've been dreaming about those devices for over a decade, not being wealthy or motivated enough to get one. Yet...
For those unfamiliar with stereoscopic 3d videos, they can be viewed by crossing your eyes. This method will produce three images, the middle one being 3d. With a little practice it is possible to change your focus into every corner of the center picture. Yet one hint: Take a piece of cardboard, preferably size A4 or Letter, rather dark than white. Cut a hole of 2in x 2inches in the middle of it. Place the cardboard at a foot length of your face and look at your monitor through the hole. Experiment with the distances to optimal quality. I could watch Vulcan's video on full screen with my 30" monitor without any problems. It's much easier to eliminate the side images and also less straining to your eyes. One side note: The image will look like the monitor were pivoted! [/quote Can you put some details how you fasten it to your head
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: hitech on October 29, 2013, 12:13:10 PM
I wrote the drivers to support the Oculas at the end of July. With the demo version,I found the resolution to be low to be worth releasing support for it at this time.
Other issues are things like you can not see your key board to position your hands to type.
When they release a hi res version of it, We may add support for it, coupled with tracker ir for translation control.
HiTech
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Arlo on October 29, 2013, 12:23:48 PM
Thanks, HT.
I'm holding out for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6bkmPjVF-k ... on a larger more affordable scale in order to make:
Can you put some details how you fasten it to your head
Not directly to your head, but to a convenient adjustable distance: There's two swivelled sticks attached to your sides on the shoulder level, equipped with smaller sticks with a grip function. With a little practice you should be able to get the cardboard into the desired position.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Wiley on October 29, 2013, 01:46:47 PM
I wrote the drivers to support the Oculas at the end of July. With the demo version,I found the resolution to be low to be worth releasing support for it at this time.
Other issues are things like you can not see your key board to position your hands to type.
When they release a hi res version of it, We may add support for it, coupled with tracker ir for translation control.
HiTech
Just a gentle suggestion, no snark intended, but it seems to me a lot of people have gotten their hands on these things and are using them extensively, warts and all. Why not release for the current one? If the code's just laying around, where would the harm be?
Doesn't matter too much to me, if I ever get my hands on one I'm comfortable going the route Vulcan's gone. The way he's got it to work looks good enough for me. Just seems to me a low outlay thing to do for you guys. EDIT: Not that I'm expecting a direct answer to this post. Just realized it sounded like I was calling you out. Just wanted to put the suggestion in your head.
Wiley.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Vulcan on October 29, 2013, 02:26:29 PM
I wrote the drivers to support the Oculas at the end of July. With the demo version,I found the resolution to be low to be worth releasing support for it at this time.
Other issues are things like you can not see your key board to position your hands to type.
When they release a hi res version of it, We may add support for it, coupled with tracker ir for translation control.
HiTech
Geez HT you coulda saved me a lot of time. The lower resolution is a tradeoff for the immersion - why not give us the option now (pretty please)?
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: hitech on October 29, 2013, 03:55:06 PM
Geez HT you coulda saved me a lot of time. The lower resolution is a tradeoff for the immersion - why not give us the option now (pretty please)?
Because the difference in time it takes to develop a testing system and a full implementation is not a trivial matter. There are currently many other things that are above the oculas on list of priorities.
P.S.
" but it seems to me a lot of people have gotten their hands on these things" I would be shocked if 10 AH players have them.
" If the code's just laying around, where would the harm be?" The harm is that it takes time from other things.
These type of comments. Are why I very rarely speak about what is currently under development. And is why I never mentioned the Oculas when I did the original development.
HiTech
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Wiley on October 29, 2013, 04:15:00 PM
Because the difference in time it takes to develop a testing system and a full implementation is not a trivial matter. There are currently many other things that are above the oculas on list of priorities.
And that's reasonable, and negates everything else I said. Thanks for the reply, didn't mean to be a bother. I see now you meant you had something done that works, not something bulletproof ready for production. I'm just glad it has a slot in the priority chain, no matter where it is.
Quote
" but it seems to me a lot of people have gotten their hands on these things" I would be shocked if 10 AH players have them.
Quite possibly. It'll be n+1 if I can overcome the wife ack.
Wiley.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Vulcan on October 29, 2013, 06:46:12 PM
Because the difference in time it takes to develop a testing system and a full implementation is not a trivial matter. There are currently many other things that are above the oculas on list of priorities.
Understood, I work for a software organization and understand. FWIW I think the tracking is better handled by OpenTrack, as it lets you put in curves, combine input sources etc.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: zack1234 on October 30, 2013, 02:42:22 AM
Awesome :old:
Not being able to use keyboard to type may be useful for those who keep getting banned :old:
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Gryffin on November 03, 2013, 02:15:38 PM
I wrote the drivers to support the Oculas at the end of July. With the demo version,I found the resolution to be low to be worth releasing support for it at this time.
Other issues are things like you can not see your key board to position your hands to type.
When they release a hi res version of it, We may add support for it, coupled with tracker ir for translation control.
HiTech
I spoke to one of the developers at a game development conference at the end of August. He said they were planning on 1080p and 6dof movement for the release next year.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Gryffin on January 07, 2014, 05:45:22 PM
Now with 1080p resolution and 6 degrees of freedom!
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Fulcrum on January 07, 2014, 07:36:37 PM
Freakin' sweet. I can tell I'll be dealing with motion sickness for the first week or so when it finally comes out but it will be totally worth it. :lol
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: SilverZ06 on January 07, 2014, 08:15:19 PM
Did I miss an estimated release date or was it not posted? I want one!
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: guncrasher on January 07, 2014, 09:00:27 PM
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: terrydew on January 19, 2014, 08:39:39 AM
Trying to get ready for a release this year. Started using a voice control software vac that has eliminated the need for a keyboard. Now working on mouse with leap motion but so far no go.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Gh0stFT on March 19, 2014, 01:36:19 PM
Today they started selling Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (I instant ordered one ) :-D
Some Infos:
- Build in Positional Tracking (no more TrackIR needed!) - Low Persistence OLED Display (say bye bye to motion blur) - 1920x1080 Resolution (960 x 1080 per eye)
the bad thing, shipping will start in July 2014, oh dear ;-p
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on March 19, 2014, 01:39:56 PM
Sony just released their headset which is supposed to beat Oculus spec wise hands down. The only question mark is will it work outside of PS4 - and if it doesn't Sony should keep selling more buildings for income.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Skuzzy on March 19, 2014, 01:45:15 PM
Sony just released their headset which is supposed to beat Oculus spec wise hands down. The only question mark is will it work outside of PS4 - and if it doesn't Sony should keep selling more buildings for income.
Considering Sony's debt rating has been devalued to "junk" status, I doubt they are going to be around, in their current form, for much longer.
They have manage to piss off every consumer they can and they continue to do so without being aware they are doing it. Companies like that are not around for very long.
Besides, the thing probably has a GPS locator in it and if you wander too far from the console, the Sony police will arrest you for theft of a copyrighted device.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Hoplite on March 19, 2014, 01:45:33 PM
Hmmmmmmmm....$350 for essentially a 3D monitor and trackIR.
Me wants one. :D
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Hoplite on March 19, 2014, 01:52:31 PM
Considering Sony's debt rating has been devalued to "junk" status, I doubt they are going to be around, in their current form, for much longer.
They have manage to piss off every consumer they can and they continue to do so without being aware they are doing it. Companies like that are not around for very long.
Yup.
The security breach of the Sony Network was the last straw for me. If that had not occured, I may well have bought a PS4 last Christmas instead of opting for the Xbox One. I still think the PS4 is the superior platform...but Sony will get nothing from me going forward. Shame too....I STILL like our PS3 much more than our Xbox 360.
And yes, the XBONE was essentially an unfinished product when it was released...but MS was at least honest in acknowledging they rushed it out the door. I felt it was relatively bug free despite everything.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Gh0stFT on March 19, 2014, 01:55:08 PM
Sony just released their headset which is supposed to beat Oculus spec wise hands down. The only question mark is will it work outside of PS4 - and if it doesn't Sony should keep selling more buildings for income.
beat Oculus specs ??? LOL what specs exsactly? :) the info we got today its the same as the Oculus Rift Crystal Clove Devkit presented a few month's ago. Competition is good, but all we get from sony right now is just a modell with Infos... meanwhile Oculus is selling DK2 and Developer around the world building VR stuff :D And yes, Sony's HMD will only support PS4, at least thats the plan...
The security breach of the Sony Network was the last straw for me. If that had not occured, I may well have bought a PS4 last Christmas instead of opting for the Xbox One. I still think the PS4 is the superior platform...but Sony will get nothing from me going forward. Shame too....I STILL like our PS3 much more than our Xbox 360.
And yes, the XBONE was essentially an unfinished product when it was released...but MS was at least honest in acknowledging they rushed it out the door. I felt it was relatively bug free despite everything.
I do not own an Xbox. I bought a PS3 for the Bluray player and media player capabilities. Not much for console gaming myself. I just bought another PS3 for my garage, as the PS4 has been stripped of multi-media capabilities (at least, everything I can find says it has been).
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Hoplite on March 19, 2014, 02:28:50 PM
Sony just released their headset which is supposed to beat Oculus spec wise hands down. The only question mark is will it work outside of PS4 - and if it doesn't Sony should keep selling more buildings for income.
Have some co-workers that made it up to GDC, both got to try out Sony's VR set and new version of OR. Both agreed that the OR was better, and from what they told me, at this stage the Sony VR goggles will only be for the PS4, maybe with added remote play functionality on the Vita but nothing about other platforms.
ack-ack
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Skuzzy on March 19, 2014, 03:10:22 PM
I am pretty sure they do not have any feet left. Not much left to point a gun at anymore.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Randy1 on March 19, 2014, 03:16:05 PM
A squad member has been working with the VAC software to try to eliminate the keyboard for a future OR setup. For 18 bucks the software is pretty good value.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: terrydew on March 20, 2014, 11:22:28 PM
Just ordered Dev Kit 2. Hope AH supports.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Hoplite on March 21, 2014, 11:50:19 AM
Only downside to a OR or similar headset for me personally is it kinds defeats the purpose of having a home cockpit.... :frown:
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on March 21, 2014, 12:25:30 PM
I think most would agree given the usual stupid jokes and one liners I post on 200. Might even make a good campaign! "Do your part for the good of the game....pitch in to buy Hoplite an Oculus Rift!!!"
:D
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: guncrasher on March 22, 2014, 12:50:50 AM
you calling me a noob? really? where do you think the OR goes?
semp
Under the beer helmet straps of course, noob :devil
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: terrydew on March 22, 2014, 02:46:27 PM
Skuzzy why not put hooks into the existing windows speech engine to provide for voice to text and text to voice for the text buffer. I have been experimenting with a voice control program that use se the windows engine. It works really well. I never touch the keyboard to issue a dot command and also use it for flight commands like gear flaps etc.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: eagl on March 22, 2014, 09:29:43 PM
With a halfway decent hotas stick/throttle setup and a keyboard with the little bumps on F and J keys, you won't need to see the keyboard. Or get a custom programmable accessory gaming keyboard to map specific commands to the gaming accessory keyboard.
With my old Saitek hotas, I almost never had to touch the keyboard. If you're buying an oculus rift setup, you can certainly afford a decent programmable stick/throttle...
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: terrydew on June 29, 2014, 10:55:21 AM
Quote
"I wrote the drivers to support the Oculas at the end of July. With the demo version,I found the resolution to be low to be worth releasing support for it at this time.
Other issues are things like you can not see your key board to position your hands to type.
When they release a hi res version of it, We may add support for it, coupled with tracker ir for translation control.
HiTech
The new dev kit 2 is to ship next month. It has 1080P and head tracking built in. Any chance you will release drivers for it?
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: zack1234 on June 29, 2014, 05:58:42 PM
What said software?.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: save on July 02, 2014, 07:46:29 PM
I'm only using my PS3 to watch Blue Ray's, my Raspberry PI with a USB drive is doing multimedia for me. I'm still pissed they killed Linux for PS3.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on July 03, 2014, 01:42:57 PM
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/game/3528510/vastly-improved-second-gen-oculus-rift-vr-headset-starts-shipping-to-developers/ the dev kit 2 shipped.
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Vulcan on July 03, 2014, 05:42:02 PM
With a halfway decent hotas stick/throttle setup and a keyboard with the little bumps on F and J keys, you won't need to see the keyboard. Or get a custom programmable accessory gaming keyboard to map specific commands to the gaming accessory keyboard.
With my old Saitek hotas, I almost never had to touch the keyboard. If you're buying an oculus rift setup, you can certainly afford a decent programmable stick/throttle...
^ this. Between HOTAS and Vox I don't care about the keyboard.
If HTC doesn't want to support OR, maybe you could bribe the finnish guy that implemented OR for a 10 year old game...
Title: Re: Aces High + Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Headset Setup
Post by: Gman on March 06, 2015, 10:38:24 PM
Some pretty impressive reviews of the preview version of Valve/Steam's VR headset. Looks like OR is going to have some serious competitors, Sony is making one as well. That can only be good for consumers, can't wait to see what comes in the next year with these things.