AMD's Next Radeon Flagship Spotted Powering Oculus Rift

[FritzEiv]

We've just witnessed a demo of Showdown running on the Crescent Bay Oculus Rift, being powered by AMD's Radeon R9 series graphics.

AMD's Next Radeon Flagship Spotted Powering Oculus Rift : Read more

 

[DelightfulDucklings]

Would be nice to hear your thoughts on how Crescent Bay compares to DK2 in an opinion write up. Hopefully we see the next generation of GPUs from AMD shortly if they are already using them like this

 

[Achoo22]

Yawn... we were told the same thing back when Titanfall was in development and we were all going to be blown away playing it in VR upon its release. Wake me up when someone starts actually shipping products - unless, of course, they require "flagship ultra-enthusiast" counterparts. Anyone who uses the term "ultra-enthusiast" should immediately be punched in the mouth.

 

[somebodyspecial]

I don't see myself ever wearing any "GEAR" on my head. Even hate headphones, but I use them if online in a fps, but that's about it. I'd always prefer NOTHING on my head, and surround speakers for most games. On top of not wanting something up there, I'm not excited about a tech that causes most to get headaches or nausea after mere hours or less. Unless they get this stuff down to $50 or something, it wouldn't be worth it to me. I say $50 because that is what I'm willing to pay for something I use very little (IE, less than headphones, if it still has the effects noted). It's a great idea, don't get me wrong. I might accept it more if it was less "on your head" like google glass or something (but both eyes, I just mean glasses), rather than looking like I'm going scuba diving But I'm sure some will just drool over this stuff. But top end video cards+VR unit=low audience to me. I'd think most devs would rather aim at a 1.5B unit audience on mobile especially after everyone is X1 level gpu. Much easier to sell more units and be successful with those numbers.

Also there won't be a ton of stuff out for this for years anyway as the audience is small. Devs don't even begin to write for consoles until 10mil units and they have a major fan base. I'm wondering how much effort the devs will have to put in to making a game use this tech on top of making a great game, which means if it's a LOT of effort watch quality drop or play time shrink even more - 5-10hrs? LOL. I'd rather see more stuff like Underworld Ascendant or Bard's Tale IV (yes #4!)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant
35hrs or so left on this one. Bard's Tale just starting up I guess. Torment, Tides of Numenera, Shroud of the Avatar, Shadowgun (just raised 1.2mil for their next shadowrun game) etc. Great games by smaller devs that bring back quality and LONGER play time for your money. IE, 10-15hrs for $60 vs. these little guys doing 15-60hrs of fun for $20-45. Opinions vary I'm sure. VR just isn't well spent money to me for games, thankfully it looks like only the big dogs are involved so we'll still get the great little guy's games anyway (fun for all then I guess).

 

[warezme]

No product, no cares. The industry has been waving these things in our faces for years now, always soon to be released whatever. I predict that even if they are released they will soon become like vision surround, 3d vision and 3d monitors and SLI cards. It all sounds great until all the incompatibilities and driver issues and lack of game support, etc, etc. crop up.

 

[jossrik]

My little brother has an Oculus DK2, and I gotta say. It's awesome. My parents were blown away. And the worst part is, it's crap, there are no really game changing titles it's all little two minute demos (or nearly), the games that you can play in it were buggy. But as far as the experience. It was there. I liked it a lot, we had to get him a 290X to run it (This was before NVidias 9xx series came out, well before). But it is awesome. It's like going to the movies. It's an experience you can't duplicate. You may hate it, you know what, don't buy it, there are always people that want that big screen experience, and ya, you pay 15$ per person and a hundred and twelve dollars for a small popcorn, but for them, it's worth it. Nay sayers go back to your 15in monochromes and tell me you love them.

 

[SteveCR]

I had the chance to experience DK2 as well. And I agree with jossrik, the experience is there. The game they demo'd was a crappy Mario like game, but even in that the feel of immersion is not something you'd be able to replicate through any other current mediums. So I personally think these head mounted displays will become mainstream wither we like it or not. I personally am holding off on purchasing another 28" (I have a tri-monitor setup of two 28's and one 24) screen because I think Oculus Rift is around the corner.

 

[yumri]

I think when real applications come to it it will sell alot of units but before you have any applications for the general consumers be it for general propose video watching or gaming or simulations or whatever VR is going to stay in the side lines and never come to the main stream due to just no demand so the developers have to make something that we want for it for it to take off. For this the game engine makers have to make it easier to make for as i cannot really find any game engine that offers good support for all the VR devices but a few with select support but not support for all.

 

[123345]

The fact, that facebook bought it for $2 billion says all
And up to now we only have Dk= Development Kits, these are for developers to learn to use the hardware and not for kiddies like you. Wait for the Consumer Version, then you will see a lot of big games coming.

 

[virtualban]

Browser plugin for VR helmet, now, that could have some potential. Everything is shown on both eyes, flat surface style, except for the stereo video/picture which will show on each eye.
After that, a linux interface to make all the working environment like that at the very least, while MS still pushes for tablet experience on desktops.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, and 3D was going to be the future. Except I don't know anyone that has one, heck, most of my friends don't own televisions.

I don't want something heavy on my head for an extended period of time. Nor do I want to move my head to look around. This huge explosion, it's not going to happen.

 

[sea monkey]

I'm a lot more interested in the potential for VR as an educational tool than for gaming. Virtual tours of museums and historic locations, being able to shrink down to a microscopic level to see biological functions or chemical reactions up close... that kind of thing. I agree with some of the previous posters that VR gaming is still a niche market largely due to how cost prohibitive it is for both developers and consumers alike. Furthermore, it's always going to be a hard sell to the older crowd who has been gaming on PCs with the same mouse and keyboard interface for decades now.

 

[mapesdhs]

The OR is already being used for medical, defense, engineering
& other applications, but then such fields have been using VR for years
anyway (anyone remember the 6DOF video from the mid 1990s?).

Re sea monkey's comment, I was talking with someone recently about the
possibility of using Elite Dangerous in some way with the OR for educational
purposes in schools/unis, since as it stands (but ignoring the game play,
combat, trading etc.) it's already an excellent demo of planets, stars, spatial
distances, etc., and the controllable static environment of a classroom is
perfect for allowing students to use an OR for a short period of time to
experience something, but not so long that they'll fall foul of the nausea
issues (unless they're particularly susceptible). Would be good if FD could
include am 'edu' mode which essentially puts one into Solo mode with no
other ships around at all, flying a specific fixed craft fitted out to the max
for travel/discovery, at no cost, no max jump range, no fuel is used ever,
but no interaction possible at stations for things like trading, etc. Turns the
game into an uber planetarium so to speak.

Ian.

 

[rival-san]

Think about creating UCAV which is controlled by this. Real pilots aren't needed anymore.

 

[Warsaw]

I just get so giddy about VR coming and getting ready to go to the consumer. It's such an exciting time in gaming IMO, one of the most if not the most to me. Especially gaming almost 25 years or so I can't remember another time I've been as excited (maybe perhaps as a kid waiting for Christmas morning)

 

[TNT27]

love the though of amd getting HBM AND a Die shrink. Bye Bye Nvidia, you served me well, even with the insane prices i had to pay over amd gpus.

 

[dsgffd]

This would be exciting if the product was actually launching instead of being demoed.

 

[agentbb007]

I still think VR is going to go the same way as 3D, cool for the first couple movies you watch. Then you just get sick of having to recharge glasses, kids breaking expensive glasses, smudges all over the glasses, no content, $10 more than blu-ray movies, etc etc etc. In others words this is just going to be another gimmick a few early adopters pay thousands of dollars for but never gains any real market. IMO

 

[skit75]

audio needs to be integrated into the OR. I tried DK1 and haven't followed much since then but getting a pair of headphones for full immersion over the the DK1 headset wasn't so elegant. Audio needs to be a part of this headset also IMHO.

 

[dennisburke]

I've been interested in the Oculus Rift since it was first announced, I've never had the chance to experience VR, but my imagination tells me it's going to be pretty cool.

One thing I've noticed in all the articles about the Oculus Rift is the audio quality is seldom mentioned. To me a true VR experience needs to include both visual and audio.

I now see most bike riders wearing helmets. When I was a kid, the idea of wearing a helmet wasn't even on the radar.

I mention helmet only because it could be the best way to deliver both video and audio to the user. I also think in might not be a bad idea to provide some head protection to the user. I've fallen out of my chair a couple of times while playing a game and banged my head.

Some composite, ultra-light, foam padded, super ventilated, skeleton framework, of a minimalist helmet, might be the best way to deliver video and audio, and also provide some head protection.

 

[somebodyspecial]

My little brother has an Oculus DK2, and I gotta say. It's awesome. My parents were blown away. And the worst part is, it's crap, there are no really game changing titles it's all little two minute demos (or nearly), the games that you can play in it were buggy. But as far as the experience. It was there. I liked it a lot, we had to get him a 290X to run it (This was before NVidias 9xx series came out, well before). But it is awesome. It's like going to the movies. It's an experience you can't duplicate. You may hate it, you know what, don't buy it, there are always people that want that big screen experience, and ya, you pay 15$ per person and a hundred and twelve dollars for a small popcorn, but for them, it's worth it. Nay sayers go back to your 15in monochromes and tell me you love them.

61in at home (going higher shortly, thinking 70in+) with surround and no kids screaming, no stepping on crap on the floor, nobody's phones ringing etc. I brought the theater to ME to avoid all those issues. Intermission whenever I want, food cheap, drinks etc. Different strokes for different folks. No hate for the people that go to the movies as they fund the ability to get it to me at some point at home. The same can be said for this device I guess (or people who keep buying Titan's etc). I have dual monitors 24/22. Who has 15in? Those will be 27/30 or pair of 27's this xmas also. I'm glad people fill the theater, it pays for more content. I have no problem thinking some really cool stuff will come out "at some point" for these things. But not next week Let me know when they get it all fixed, and release some real games for it. Android has went from crap games to a lot of great stuff in ~4-5yrs and better all the time. How long for VR? I reserve the right to sing a different tune in 2-3 years

 

[Alec Mowat]

I like AMD. They've done a lot of great things.
But if I was a share holder, I'd be bailing out about now. I give them about 2 years until they fold.

 

[Alec Mowat]

I don't see myself ever wearing any "GEAR" on my head. Even hate headphones, but I use them if online in a fps, but that's about it. I'd always prefer NOTHING on my head, and surround speakers for most games. On top of not wanting something up there, I'm not excited about a tech that causes most to get headaches or nausea after mere hours or less. Unless they get this stuff down to $50 or something, it wouldn't be worth it to me. I say $50 because that is what I'm willing to pay for something I use very little (IE, less than headphones, if it still has the effects noted). It's a great idea, don't get me wrong. I might accept it more if it was less "on your head" like google glass or something (but both eyes, I just mean glasses), rather than looking like I'm going scuba diving But I'm sure some will just drool over this stuff. But top end video cards+VR unit=low audience to me. I'd think most devs would rather aim at a 1.5B unit audience on mobile especially after everyone is X1 level gpu. Much easier to sell more units and be successful with those numbers.

Also there won't be a ton of stuff out for this for years anyway as the audience is small. Devs don't even begin to write for consoles until 10mil units and they have a major fan base. I'm wondering how much effort the devs will have to put in to making a game use this tech on top of making a great game, which means if it's a LOT of effort watch quality drop or play time shrink even more - 5-10hrs? LOL. I'd rather see more stuff like Underworld Ascendant or Bard's Tale IV (yes #4!)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant
35hrs or so left on this one. Bard's Tale just starting up I guess. Torment, Tides of Numenera, Shroud of the Avatar, Shadowgun (just raised 1.2mil for their next shadowrun game) etc. Great games by smaller devs that bring back quality and LONGER play time for your money. IE, 10-15hrs for $60 vs. these little guys doing 15-60hrs of fun for $20-45. Opinions vary I'm sure. VR just isn't well spent money to me for games, thankfully it looks like only the big dogs are involved so we'll still get the great little guy's games anyway (fun for all then I guess).

Lots of thumbs down, but I agree. I wear glasses, I don't like wearing glasses on my glasses. I don't like 3D movies, I don't like headphones. I don't have a smart watch.

 

[computerguy72]

I have a DK2 - I would humbly suggest to the naysayers just try it with a couple of demos before you shoot it down. You really shouldn't compare this to 3D TV's etc.. Honestly not the same sort of thing. This is the reason a lot of people will upgrade their next PC. I added a 290X to my PC and the DK2 really added to the value. As for the comments about watching movies on a rift - if it had less SDE and a little bigger POV it would almost be a perfect mimic for sitting in the theater.

 

[scolaner]

One thing I've noticed in all the articles about the Oculus Rift is the audio quality is seldom mentioned. To me a true VR experience needs to include both visual and audio.

You're right that audio is key. The Oculus Rift Crescent Bay demo has audio.