Virtual reality company Oculus VR revealed a new prototype version of its flagship Rift headset this weekend, promising they'd made a 'massive leap' towards the goal of presenting truly immersive virtual worlds.
I've tried on the headset, and I've run through the new ten-minute demo prepared by Oculus to show the hardware off, and I can tell you that what I experienced was thrilling. After decades of failed products, VR is finally here.
The new prototype, code-named Crescent Bay, was announced on Saturday at an Oculus VR developer conference in Hollywood, California. It boasts an updated display from its predecessors, according to the company, as well as 360-degree head tracking, expanded positional tracking volume, improved weight and ergonomics, and optional integrated audio.
In other words, it's lighter and more comfortable when you strap it on your head, there are built in headphones, the digital screen inside offers better graphics, and when you look around, there's no lag or delay. The experience is seamless, like you've actually stepped into a different place. You forget what you're looking at isn't real.
I've tried Oculus' virtual reality headsets before, and while I've always been impressed by the technology, I've never gotten lost in the experience like this before. I'm very prone to motion sickness, even when I'm playing video games on a TV; Oculus' first developer kit made me want to vomit after just a couple minutes, and while the second kit was much better, it still left me clammy after a quarter-hour of play. But Crescent Bay worked perfectly; no nausea, nothing to take me out of the virtual world.
The Crescent Bay demo took place in a small room, where a single camera was mounted on the wall to track my location and movement. Unlike other Rift demos, I stood on a small padded mat, and didn't sit in a chair. The headset was light and small, and strapped around my eyes with no discomfort or feeling of weight. Built in headphones pulled down out of the rig to provide stereo sound.
With the headset in place, I found myself transported through a series of short scenes designed to show off the tech and put users into different virtual worlds. Each one felt real, like I was actually inside a new reality, not just looking at a screen strapped to my head; the graphics were seamless and responded to my movements perfectly.
I stood on top of a skyscraper in the middle of a futuristic city, swiveling my head to look at all the different buildings around me. Stepping forward, the scene moved with me until I was at the edge of the building; looking down, I felt genuine vertigo as I gazed at the streetscape, seemingly far below.
I shrunk down to microscopic size, and found myself facing down a giant, truck-sized mite; basketball-sized pieces of dust and pollen floated through the air, and I could actually walk around them, examining them from all sides.
I found myself in an abandoned corridor with high cathedral ceilings, and sunlight streaming through tall windows. As I looked around I heard a low thump off in the distance behind me, then another, and another. A huge Tyrannosaurus Rex approached, and when it came close to me, my heart sped up and I felt the instinct to fight or flight; thankfully, the T. Rex didn't attack, but as it walked over and away from me, its tail flashing just over my head, I involuntarily ducked.
I visited a tiny city that was floating in air, like a model placed on an invisible table. I could walk around it, lean over or look underneath it, even step into the middle of it and peer into open windows.
There were other experiences and realities, maybe a dozen in total, but the most impressive was probably the final one, built by Epic Games, which featured a team of armored soldiers fighting off a huge combat mech. I could dodge slow-motion bullets like I was in the Matrix, look up and watch a car flip over my head, walk around one of the soldiers and examine his armor, and even bend over and peer through his rifle's sights.
To be fair, the Crescent Bay demo does have its shortcomings. The Rift's graphics are great, but far from perfect; the headset made my brow hot, even in just ten minutes; a lot of outside light sneaks in through the bottom of the headset around your nose.
But none of that really matters when you're in the moment and experiencing a virtual world. I was actually tricked into thinking I was somewhere else; there's no constant reminder that you're in a simulation. It feels real.
