Oculus Rift: The Future of Sim Racing?

Oculus Rift DK2.jpg

This past week, I had the opportunity to try out the newly released Oculus Rift DK2 (Developers Kit 2) with Project Cars, and one thing was immediately clear. This is the real deal, it really is going to change not only sim racing, but gaming among many other aspects of technology. But in terms of sim racing, does it really meet the requirements of the serious sim racer?

Those who tested the DK1 were all left amazed by the movement and real life feel the 3D creates, but as for sim racing it raised a few questions and concerns. Would the resolution be high enough to see far away details such as turn markers? Will the 3D give good enough depth perception to properly judge a turn? Will it strain your eyes or cause motion sickness? How real will the movement feel and will it react quickly enough?

After giving it a try, for me at least, those questions are no longer of any concern. The resolution has been upped from the DK1's 720p display to a 1080p display for the DK2. The CV1 (Consumer Version 1) is predicted to have at least a 1440p display, if not 4k. Even with the 1080p display it is clear enough to not only drive well, but to totally forget that you are playing a game. Yes, it can be a bit fuzzy in the distance, and small details such as gauges can be a bit hard to read, but as soon as you start driving, you simply don't care. You really don't even notice. You are so taken back by the lighting and the 3D that the small details just don't matter. The first few minutes, feel quite odd really, almost gives you the feeling in your stomach you get when you are on a roller coaster, but after a few laps your eyes adjust and there is little strain. I even found myself leaning into the turns and looking down over the crest of hills.

This is not 3D as you have experienced it before. There is not certain things that jump out at you, there is not things that look far away. There is a world around you to which everything has a depth and a distance. The Oculus truly makes you feel that you could reach out and touch something, and at some point you are likely to try do to exactly that. What is most amazing about this is the fact that as soon as you put your hands on the wheel, it really feels like the arms in game, are your real arms. When you look down at the in game shoulder, you know it is exactly where your real shoulder is. The effect this accuracy has on your brain is significant. Despite less than photo quality graphics and resolution, it really is easy to forget you are wearing a virtual reality system. Any lag that exists between real and in-game movement, is negligible, and really not noticeable at most times.

One of the most amazing aspects of this all is, apart from being transported into another world, the perspective you suddenly gain on the tracks you have been driving all these years. The incline of the hills is easily readable, and at the top you feel your view goes on forever. All in all, it's an amazing experience everyone should try, sim racer or not.

So to answer the question, does it really meet the requirements of the serious sim racer? Yes, it does. I can confidently say, OV1 will be undeniably better than any monitor or projector setup possible. In my opinion, DK2 already is. Combined with the beauty of Project Cars, this makes for a truly stunning experience. The rain, the sun glare and rays of light, it all makes for an experience that leaves you wanting more, and feeling a bit less like "Sim" just isn't real enough.

Oculus CV1 is expected to be released for sales sometime in 2015, and cost somewhere around (and possibly under) $300. While that may not be a large amount, remember to save up for the new graphics card to go with it.

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I just wonder how quickly this will ruin my eyesight. It can't be good to stare at a screen that's inches away from your eyes for longer sessions. I really like the Oculus, but this is a concern to me.

Not a problem, looking closely at a screen damaging your eyes is an old wives tale that hasnt been true since the old tvs of the 1940s that put out radiation, you can look as closely as you like to a screen without doing any damage you will only get tired in just the same way you get tired looking at a book or a painting or.. a piece of cheese for too long xD also the lenses, screen and software controlling the images that are sent to the screen are all designed to reduce eye strain as much as possible in the first place.
 
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Not a problem, looking closely at a screen damaging your eyes is an old wives tale that hasnt been true since the old tvs of the 1940s that put out radiation, you can look as closely as you like to a screen without doing any damage you will only get tired in just the same way you get tired looking at a book or a painting or.. a piece of cheese for too long xD also the lenses, screen and software controlling the images that are sent to the screen are all designed to reduce eye strain as much as possible in the first place.

I do think looking at an object that's right in front of your eyes - as in an inch/ a couple of centimeters away from your eyes - can overstress the lenses in the eye making it hard to focus on things further away from you. This might not be that big of a problem for adults, but kids/teenagers will definitely need to watch out for their eyes. I guess adults are fine though.
 
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I do think looking at an object that's right in front of your eyes - as in an inch/ a couple of centimeters away from your eyes - can overstress the lenses in the eye making it hard to focus on things further away from you. This might not be that big of a problem for adults, but kids/teenagers will definitely need to watch out for their eyes. I guess adults are fine though.

This is true, and happens when you read books, for example. However, the screen can still be very close and a lens in the middle defocusing it so your eye has to look "further" to see the image, relaxing the eye. (I have never seen the device myself, but that is what I would definitely do, because the the screens seem to be more in the "impossible to focus" range than in the "quite close" range).
 
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This is true, and happens when you read books, for example. However, the screen can still be very close and a lens in the middle defocusing it so your eye has to look "further" to see the image, relaxing the eye. (I have never seen the device myself, but that is what I would definitely do, because the the screens seem to be more in the "impossible to focus" range than in the "quite close" range).

This makes sense. If the device does this, then I've got no more reasons to leave my home. :)
 
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This makes sense. If the device does this, then I've got no more reasons to leave my home. :)
This is correct, Oculus describe the optics as 'focused to infinity/the horizon', so it is actually easier on the eyes than staring at a monitor. There are a bunch of factors that reduce the overall comfort at the moment (resolution, latency, etc), but most will be addressed with CV1. If you ignore the sub-optimal specs for now, the optical design is definitely more comfortable than looking at a monitor. Using a sim in VR, I can feel my eyes settle in the distance when looking at the road ahead, and they only converge (like looking at a monitor) when looking at something up close in the environment (like the steering wheel).

Here's a video I made about racing in VR:

 
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I'm looking forward to War Thunder with the OR. Gonna be fun!

After finding some tips about changing the IPD setting (default in WT is a nightmare) I managed a good hour in War Thunder last night and dare I say it was better than racing. I'll always put racing first but being in a cockpit is just more engaging than a race car. There is so much more going on. When you get into a dogfight and start chasing an enemy, following him twisting and turning as you go, banking and tracking him properly through the every angle possible, it's just a revelation IMO

I'm so glad that my only real gaming loves are racing and flying because Rift is my new best friend..and will only getting better in time :)
 
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Have you tried it yet?
Select Oculus option in WT settings. Put rift in extended mode and you're pretty much set. The rest is a case of changing settings to keep your frame rate up.
The positional tracking doesn't work properly but I'm not really a fan of leaning in and out of the screen, not yet anyway.
The IPD is an issue, it seems WT does something with the IPD figure from the Oculus Config, so the way round it (which has worked for me but others say it doesn't make a difference for them) is change the IPD. If you look here c:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Oculus\ProfileDB.json you will see the Oculus Configs. You can change the IPD figure and save. What I did was make a new profile called WT and set the IPD to 34mm (Oculus Config only goes to 55mm but editing json does save whatever you set)

That's for starters anyway :)
 
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Have you tried it yet?
Select Oculus option in WT settings. Put rift in extended mode and you're pretty much set. The rest is a case of changing settings to keep your frame rate up.
The positional tracking doesn't work properly but I'm not really a fan of leaning in and out of the screen, not yet anyway.
The IPD is an issue, it seems WT does something with the IPD figure from the Oculus Config, so the way round it (which has worked for me but others say it doesn't make a difference for them) is change the IPD. If you look here c:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Oculus\ProfileDB.json you will see the Oculus Configs. You can change the IPD figure and save. What I did was make a new profile called WT and set the IPD to 34mm (Oculus Config only goes to 55mm but editing json does save whatever you set)

That's for starters anyway :)
Thank you Steve, I'll have to give that a go when I get a chance.
 
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