So tangentially related to a post I made in the PC thread regarding my Dell points… it turns out Dell sells HTC Vive headsets. Specifically from the Cosmos series, mostly.
I read up some reviews on these things, but I have so little actual practical experience with VR, and the nuances between different sets, that it really doesn’t mean much to me. I can read the flaws and strengths, and how it compares to the Valve Index or whatever else, but it’s all just abstractness in the end for me.
The article claims that if you go with the basic, self contained controller tracking version/system, it can be a bit wonky, but how actually wonky? The Rift S (the system I currently am using) tracking system seems like it can be a bit fakakta too, and still requires me to set up those two tracking stations which can’t even be wall mounted, which is a minor inconvenience. So how would this system’s tracking system compare, both with and without the stations? Also, the controllers look different between the two versions?
Keeping in mind that I would be upgrading from an Oculus Rift S, is this a good headset that is worth the money? My Dell points would be paying for over 50% of the cost if I went with the basic, HDM and controllers only setup, and just under 50% for the “Elite” kit with the stations.
FYI you have a Rift, the Rift S has inside-out tracking
The Windows MR and Cosmos inside-out tracking systems get into trouble with occlusion behind the back or when the controllers are too close to your face. Obviously these scenarios vary in frequency by game, so YMMV
The tracking with the Steam VR stations would be excellent, no occlusion possible, and better than the Rift CV1 tracking you have now
I would not get a Cosmos now, though, the upgrade over your Rift would be lateral in many ways. Better to wait for an Index 2 or new Windows MR headset, etc.
I saw a quote from Zuck that they’re “expanding infinite office” so you can be more productive on the Quest and I have to wonder if he’s ever put the damn thing on
It sounds like Facebook is trying to build a market like the ad-supported free-to-play mobile market; that’s where they already do business and it’s definitely a stable and workable way to support development. But. This is a custom, fairly expensive device, not a secondary usage on a computer someone already owns, so like consoles, it skews towards dedicated purchasers willing to buy premium games. Plus the addressable ad volume is tiny.
I look up the announced title, and Blaston is…a $10 game? Blugh
I’m glad this has gotten shoved out of premium games every time it’s been tried.
I’ve thought the fix might be a subscription service because the users aren’t very price sensitive at that level and they’re already doing first-party investment at scale
It looks like someone from the ad side started asking how they were going to make money a couple of years ago
Odd how un-savvy Silicon Valley companies are about games
It looks like Blaston is largely a multiplayer game and they’re doing live development. You generally need some continuous revenue stream if you’re doing that, and it looks like they’ve got some form of DLC…but I can’t imagine the userbase is large enough to support development. Of course, switching to ads doesn’t change that if you still don’t have enough users…
The game also exists on Steam; I wonder if they’ll be adding ads to that as well? To put it another way, they aren’t owned or published by Facebook/Oculus, so maybe the story is mis-reported and the dev is utilizing a new Facebook API to serve ads as a new Facebook product. I’ve seen plenty of platform holders give pitches for a new ad tech that can be called to display in a game, the platform promising to handle sales entirely and give the developer a cut of the attention monies.
In my experience, they send out bizdev folks to booze people up and offer good terms. If this is the first game to use it, there’s a good chance Facebook is just directly paying them to implement it in a real-world scenario. A pretty good deal for a game that can’t fund itself on user sales, at the cost of self-respect and harassment from your fans.
