Oculus Rift Development on OS X 'Paused' to Focus on Strong Windows Launch

[Zemzil]

PC gaming is growing and a multibillion dollar a year industry you don't have to like it but it is.

What I see on SteamSurvey is an hardware stagnation for years and a very low-end average user equipment. PC Gaming Master Race are a niche maybe smaller than mac-user.

But I did not see any PC exclusives having the thent percent of the hype in gaming community last years that Bloobdorne, Red Dead Redemption or The Last of US got. Except uh... Minecraft ? Even 3DS agregate more exceptation from fans than any PC announcement.

PC stay a good and economical gaming plateform but it's the "five truck wheel" in terms of innovation. During 2000-2005, Half Life 2, Doom3, World of Warcraft or S.T.A.L.K.E.R was such title that make you want a new destkop or GPU.

Now consoles still got plenty exclusives games as the past... but where are the PC exclusives or studios, except in RTS or simulation ? Where are these games that any gamers wants to play and buy a PC for it ? Because many gamers does not care about plateform.

I own a dedictated gaming PC for 20 years but in 2015, after a day of work in front of a computer, I prefer to lounge on a fluffy sofa, toes in range of my 55" HDTV with a fresh juice and play confortably - then sitting another hour on a desk chair... And for strategy/rts/simulation they are bunch of good games on iOS.

 

[Mclovincr]

What I see on SteamSurvey is an hardware stagnation for years and a very low-end average user equipment. PC Gaming Master Race are a niche maybe smaller than mac-user.

But I did not saw any PC exclusive having the thent percent hype in gaming community last years that Bloobdorne, Red Dead Redemption or The Last of US had got. Except uh... Minecraft ? Even 3DS agregate more exceptation from fans than any PC announcement.

PC stay a good and economical gaming plateform but it's the "five truck wheel" in terms of innovation. During 2000-2005, Half Life 2, Doom3, World of Warcraft or S.T.A.L.K.E.R was such title that make you want a new destkop or GPU.

Now consoles still got plenty exclusives games as the past... but where are the PC exclusives or studios, except in RTS or simulation ? Where are these games that any gamers wants to play and buy a PC for it ? Because many gamers does not care about plateform.

I own a dedictated gaming PC for 20 years but in 2015, after a day of work in front of a computer, I prefer to lounge on a fluffy sofa, toes in range of my 55" HDTV with a fresh juice and play confortably - then sitting another hour on a desk chair... And for strategy/rts/simulation they are bunch of good games on iOS.

Everything will boil down to your preferences. I speak as a PC Gamer and i don't like the idea of consoles (as my main gaming set).

1. All my friends are on PC.
2. I love to tweak the settings.
3. I enjoy building PCs.

For example GTA V. Beautifully executed in all platforms but PC get the DLC for free plus is completely customizable for the GPU you own. Not to mention that you can play it with keyboard/mouse (great for aiming) and a controller (great for driving).

The indie community is just awesome in the PC arena. Although not all of them are great games but you have the possibility of playing them. Don't forget the mod community. DayZ (mod) is one of the best examples of it.

 

[oliversl]

Halo 1 event all over again, this is bad, real bad, "Halo 1 event" type of bad

 

[2IS]

What I see on SteamSurvey is an hardware stagnation for years and a very low-end average user equipment. PC Gaming Master Race are a niche maybe smaller than mac-user.

But I did not see any PC exclusives having the thent percent of the hype in gaming community last years that Bloobdorne, Red Dead Redemption or The Last of US got. Except uh... Minecraft ? Even 3DS agregate more exceptation from fans than any PC announcement.

PC stay a good and economical gaming plateform but it's the "five truck wheel" in terms of innovation. During 2000-2005, Half Life 2, Doom3, World of Warcraft or S.T.A.L.K.E.R was such title that make you want a new destkop or GPU.

Now consoles still got plenty exclusives games as the past... but where are the PC exclusives or studios, except in RTS or simulation ? Where are these games that any gamers wants to play and buy a PC for it ? Because many gamers does not care about plateform.

I own a dedictated gaming PC for 20 years but in 2015, after a day of work in front of a computer, I prefer to lounge on a fluffy sofa, toes in range of my 55" HDTV with a fresh juice and play confortably - then sitting another hour on a desk chair... And for strategy/rts/simulation they are bunch of good games on iOS.

If we include ALL games (that includes non AAA games) PC has WAY more exclusives. If we are talking about AAA games, not so much but it still has some benefits. Project Cars for example on PS4 looks like medium settings on PC. 16 players for online races vs 32 as well. BF4 was limited to a mere 24 players on PS3 vs 64 players on PC. Thankfully PS3/XB1 fixed that but you can be sure as games get more advanced that delta will come back.

That's just a few examples and thats before we get into any sort of mods. PC has two distinct disadvantages. One is cost to build a high(er) end gaming machine, the other is it does lack a few cool exclusives. That's why I chose to get a PS4 and a gaming PC.

 

[TheHateMachine]

This thread is like a salt mine.

 

[wesk702]

Mind blowing the first time, but what were you able to do usefully that you couldn't on a 2-D screen?

It felt like I was "in" the scene. There was this one action scene where it was a first person shooter and cars were exploding over me and bullets were whizzing by. While this was happening you can literally stick your head into the cars cabin as it was flipping over you to see the inside of the car and you can look at the slo motion bullets in al 360 degrees. There was this one on top of a building ledge that really had my guts turning. I'm not a gamer, but when this comes to Mac, I'm definitely going to be.

 

[wigby]

You clearly do not understand gaming, while it will take a few generations for it to mature, the oculus is potentially a game changer in gaming. Facebook is taking what I would call a excellent gamble with it.

The problem is that Facebook understands gaming about as much as I do. Oculus is a potential game changer for any company so long as the company understands their own core strengths and weaknesses.

 

[precision01]

These days the vast majority of people spending money on third party software are Apple customers. Microsoft's third party large investor customers are primarily corporations, and those won't be buying Ocolus.

Big mistake: they picket the wrong OS to start first with.

Bro. Oculus Rift is made primarily for high end 3D GAMES, and they are on Windows. Don't let the "fanboyism" blind you about that.

 

[MH01]

The problem is that Facebook understands gaming about as much as I do. Oculus is a potential game changer for any company so long as the company understands their own core strengths and weaknesses.

Facebook buying Oculus is like Apple buying Beats, apple bundled headphones still suck Just cause facebook bought Oculus does not mean the tech will be used outside of gaming.

 

[seamer]

Wow I love reading articles about VR on sites with people clueless about the subject. It's like reading an android msg board taking about apple an iOS
VR/AR is the future of computing they is no "maybe"
3DTV failed because it did not add any thing to the experience, it was a gimmick. It was not because you needed glasses.
VR/AR are totally different. Even just putting on the primitive Rift (DK2) your whole understanding of VR wi change. This not just some addon. It's going to have massive effect on just about every industry. Just like the internet has done.
Do your self a favor keep an open mind. when the HTC vive, oculus rift or Sony morphus are released try one out. This is the verry beginning of VR. Don't be left behind. Well you really can't be because within 5-10 VR will be all around that's why companies are spending billions. It's the future of basically everything.
We'll be interesting to see how Apple tackles it.

I love being lectured by fans who are too close-minded to acknowledge when a potentially good idea can't pan out. I know exactly what Occulus Rift is and I still say it has no place in the common computer user's inventory.

VR in all of its forms has been around for at least 20 years and it's always "THIS READY!" to break out and be awesome. In 20 years they'll still be pushing the same thing.

You may like it, which is fine, but I don't think it's the breakout product everybody believes it to be.

 

[Anim]

I develop health and safety simulations for the Rift on a Mac Pro because thats where Modo, photoshop and my other tools all sit, the software used to create content is cross platform thankfully.

But I compile for Windows as frame rate (FPS) is extremely important when playing VR content. If you get lower than 60fps (90fps ideal on newer HUDs) then you start to feel motion sickness, a bit like when your parked up and the car next to you reverses and you think your car is rolling forwards, that pit of the stomach rolling feeling which had me feeling sick for 3 days on my Mac Pro 6 core. Couldn't even look at the headset without feeling nausea. This is probably the main reason why Oculus have paused Mac development as playback isn't feasible using AAA Design. Windows however adds 10 to 20 extra FPS on a Mac Pro. But ultimately you need something capable of 90 FPS+ to remove the sickness feeling.

Somebody mentioned that VR is similar to 3D TV. If you have tried VR then you wouldn't make that assumption. In VR you can look around an object by moving your head naturally just like in the real world, you can walk around objects and see something else on the other side. If you look up you see the virtual ceiling etc, look over your shoulder and you see more virtual content. It's an incredible experience and feels totally different to anything else viewed externally. You just can't match it.

I assume Facebook bought Oculus Rift because they want to create a virtual FaceBook. As in you put the headset on and land in your virtual house, all your friends (from all over the world, disabled, bed bound people etc) live next to you. They could wave at you (in real life) and their virtual character will wave too. Hand tracking is here already. Anyway, my assumption is that FaceBook will earn revenue from pimping out your house/character with purchasable assets. e.g. Buy a shack for £1 or buy a Gold Castle for £100, maybe buy a cloud that rains red snakes and send it to your friends house for 3 days because they are being an idiot.

The movie industry are excited too. You no longer sit outside the action like a traditional TV set (3D or not) but your placed right inside the action. Imagine that, You could watch a horde of zombies running straight at you, past you, Leaping over your head and behind you and your brain would be screaming for you to hide. The next scene and your sat in the back of a car with 3 other people and the driver starts to turn into a zombie from a bite. You get the idea...

Here is a movie example...
http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/26/7919177/oculus-lost-virtual-reality-film-sundance

Anyway, if your into it or not. I feel VR is going to be huge over the next 10 years. They don't invest billions into a possible fad.

The porn industry will love this too...but I will leave that to your imagination.

Anim