60,000 Oculus Rift DK2 Orders, 20,000+ Units Shipped, New Orders Ship In October 67
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.
INTENSE shit! (Score:5, Interesting)
My friend and I were playing around with his DK2 last night. We fired up Half-Life 2 (and later Half-Life 1 Source).
That big room with all the crates hanging from the ceiling that you have to jump your way across? That was just about the most intense gaming experience I've ever had. The vertigo feels completely real and you feel actual panic if you fall.
My friend fell down that elevator shaft in "Unforseen Consequences" and his brain just about melted. An hour later, his real-world balance was still fucked up and he had to go to bed.
They need higher-res, but other than that the illusion is pretty damn convincing. You completely forget that the screen is redrawing itself based on your head movements... it just feels like you're looking around inside a virtual space. (To the point that when the head-tracking effect pauses, like on loading screens, it feels BIZARRE)