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Submission + - 60,000 Oculus Rift DK2 Orders, 20,000+ Units Shipped, New Orders Ship in October (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The much lauded Oculus Rift DK2 is in high demand. Shipping began at the end of July and Oculus says they've already shipped more than 20,000 of their 60,000 orders. The company recently updated their order page to indicate that new units are expected to ship starting in October. The Oculus Rift DK2 is the company’s second development kit which offers a number of major improvements over the original kit, called the DK1, which was the result of a successful Kickstarter back in August, 2012. Although the DK2 is intended for developers, the company openly offers the VR headset up for sale to anyone interested for $350. The Oculus Rift DK2s most notable enhancements are a higher resolution display and positional tracking capability as well as a number of other under-the-hood enhancements make the DK2 a huge improvement over its predecessor.

Submission + - Nintendo's 'Virtual Boy' HMD Could Get a New Game 19 Years After Discontinuation (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: ZeroTransform, an indie VR studio, is running a Kickstarter for Vanguard V, a slick action-arcade title for virtual reality (http://kck.st/UzXcuJ). Far beyond the Kickstarter's goal of $198,000 is a stretch goal to develope a version of the game for Nintendo's 'Virtual Boy' head mounted display, nearly two decades after its discontinuation. After uncovering 'The VB Sacred Tech Scroll' (http://bit.ly/1uk6eeN), a 95 page document that spills the secrets of the Virtual Boy's hardware/software interface, ZeroTransform's Tech Director, says the studio is ready, willing, and able to create a version of Vanguard V that will run on genuine Virtual Boy hardware (http://bit.ly/1r5PLum).

Submission + - Update to 'VorpX' 3D Injection Driver Brings Oculus Rift DK2 Support to Skyrim, (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Benz145
Benz145 writes: The much anticipated Oculus Rift DK2 VR headset is just starting to reach backers and enthusiasts. Users are early searching for every bit of DK2-compatible content they can get their hands on. VorpX, a 3D injection driver that makes non-VR games compatible for the Oculus Rift, is soon to release an update which will make many popular titles compatible with the DK2, like BioShock: Infinite, Battlefield 4, and Skyrim. A new video shows experimental positional tracking support for the DK2 in Skyrim.

Submission + - Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Touchscreen Hidden Inside Every Oculus Rift DK2 VR Headset (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It has been rumored for several months (http://bit.ly/RKDwmf) that Oculus, makers of the Rift VR headset, and Samsung, smartphone and noted high-density display manufacturer, have been working together on a VR smartphone adapter to be used with a forthcoming smartphone. The relationship is purportedly such that Oculus shares their VR expertise and unreleased VR SDK for Android in return for Samsung's high resolution displays. A surprising new clue comes from within the just-released Oculus Rift DK2 headset itself, inside which is the entire touchscreen and front bezel of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (http://bit.ly/UDj4FB). iFixit happened across the phone's panel in a teardown of the DK2 (http://bit.ly/1nWuJvT).

Submission + - The Oculus Rift DK2, In-Depth Review and DK1 Comparison (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Benz145
Benz145 writes: The hotly anticipated Oculus Rift DK2 has begun arriving at doorsteps. The DK2s enhancements include optical positional tracking and a higher resolution panel, up from 1280×800 to 1920×1080 (1080p) and moved to a pentile-matrix OLED panel for display duties. This means higher levels of resolvable detail and a much reduced screen door effect. The panel features low persistence of vision, a technology pioneered by Valve that aims to cut motion artefacts by only displaying the latest, most correct display information relative to the user’s movements – as users of the DK1 will attest, its LCD panel was heavily prone to smearing, things are now much improved with the DK2.

Submission + - Day One With the Brand New Oculus Rift DK2: The Good, The Ugly and The Games (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by muterobert
muterobert writes: Paul James goes hands on with one of the first next-gen Oculus Rifts in the wild:

"After much hacking (and some kind developer linkage) I stepped into a DK2 enabled version of Technolust and lost myself utterly! The stunning attention to detail, neon on black really lets the OLED panel shine here. In fact, this experience was the closest I think I’ve ever some to presence in virtual reality thus far. Leaning in to check the myriad retro objects, gawking at the lighting and just generally being blown away by the experience. This game was fabulous on the DK1, it’s utterly compelling now."

Submission + - 'Genesis' is a VR Immersion-machine That Takes You on a Reality-bending Ride (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Kite & Lightning (http://bit.ly/1k6maYX), the developers behind the extraordinary 'Senza Peso' virtual reality mini-opera (http://bit.ly/1kWaRqe), have a metal machine parked in the middle of their office called Genesis. The device, which points eight speakers, two subwoofers, three tactile transducers, and a fan at a user laying down at its center, uses the Oculus Rift and the power of video, audio, and tactile feedback to send you on a wild ride that plays with your sense of what's 'up' and what's 'down'.

Submission + - Walkmouse is an Elegant, Motorised Omni-Directional Treadmill Built for VR (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Road to VR take a look at a new omni-direction treadmill with no harness that lets you move untethered through a virtual environment.

"The device houses 100s of motorised spirals which detect traction and respond by spinning under your feet to simulate the ground moving underneath them. At the same time, the unit reads input data from your actions which can be fed into an application or game experience."

Submission + - 9 Oculus Rift Reactions from E3 2014 (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by muterobert
muterobert writes: The Oculus VR stand at E3 this year was 'the' place to be and with 3 new games built for VR on show, Road to VR took some time to survey reactions and thoughts from those who'd been lucky enough to try the games and Oculus' new hardware, the Developer Kit 2.

Submission + - Sneak Peek at Black Mass, A VR Horror Short By Director of Paranormal Activity 5 (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by muterobert
muterobert writes: Road to VR's Ben Lang gets an exclusive viewing of the first made-for-VR horror movies, Black Mass:

"The short snippet of Jaunt’s horror experience that I saw opened with me in the middle of some sort of storage room. Haphazardly organized materials and tools were strewn around the area. In front of me was a young girl in a white dress, maybe 10 years old. She was staring right at me; I wasn’t just an observer, I was to be a participant in this experience. “I think you’re bleeding,” she said."

Submission + - Killing Zombies in VR with the Latest Version of Project Holodeck at E3 2014 (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by muterobert
muterobert writes: Ben Lang from Road to VR goes hands on and heads in with virtual reality technology company Survios' newest version of untethered VR system 'Prime 3'. He moves around the virtual space, holding and reloading weapons as you would in real life.

"At one point while playing, I was wielding the shotgun with two hands, with the table of weapons was on my right side. Several zombies were approaching and I needed a bit more fire power. I dropped the shotgun, reached over with my right hand to grab the tommy gun off the table, then virtually tossed it from my right hand to my left hand (because I’m a lefty), then pulled my pistol out of the holster with my right hand and continued to shoot both weapons."

Submission + - E3 2014: First Look GameFace Labs Mark 5 Prototype, VR Never Looked So Good (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Let me tell you, 2.5K virtual reality is gorgeous.

Even since I first put my head into Nick Pittom’s Spirited Away VR – Boiler Room Scene, I’ve been dying to see it at a resolution that did it justice. With the demo running on the GameFace Mark 5, that wish was finally answered. In my brief time with the Mark 5 prototype, the screen door effect seemed largely eliminated.

Submission + - Control VR is the Virtual Reality Data Glove You Always Wanted (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: ... another solution has launched and it bears more resemblance to how you always imagined your VR gear to look. Control VR is a motion / gesture capture system comprising motion sensors and unique (at present in the consumer space at least) data gloves which track your upper body and finger movement at rotational accuracy, Control VR claim, down to the 10th of a degree.

Submission + - New Valve Prototype VR Headset Shows up at VR Meetup in Boston (roadtovr.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The last time we saw Valve's prototype VR headset, which they said was built to the spec that could be found in a consumer product by 2015, it was a using an 'inside-out' tracking approach where a camera mounted on the VR headset tracked markers placed all over the walls and ceiling of the demo room. This week, at a VR meetup in Boston, Valve had a new prototype to show (http://bit.ly/SoWDTz), featuring an 'outside-in' tracking approaching where a single camera trackings IR-LEDs built into the case of the VR headset, much like the forthcoming Oculus Rift DK2 (http://bit.ly/PPPhb0). Valve's latest prototype is thought to be using two 1080p displays in portrait orientation, compared to a single 1080p display in the Oculus Rift DK2.

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