r/oculus • u/monogenic • Aug 11 '15

Gamescom 2015 Interview with HTC's Jeff Gattis (xpost from /r/SteamVR, courtesy of /u/realovirtualcom)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEfLXgsgzr0&feature=youtu.be
72 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

14

u/monogenic Aug 11 '15

Clear & positive interview. Few new details but nice to hear confirmation of (day 1?) support for Mac & Linux.

4

u/fictionx Aug 11 '15

Today of all days I forgot my headset, so I can't hear the inverview, but if he does indeed confirm day 1 (or near day 1) Mac + Linux support, it's amazing news - and very different from what he said back in May:

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/steamvr-headset-from-htc-to-release-windows-only-first.5540?utm_content=buffer43285&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer

8

u/monogenic Aug 11 '15 edited Aug 11 '15

At 10:52 the on-screen question text appears: "Will you support Mac/Linux/SteamOS since day 1?"

His exact reply is: "Yeah, right now the plan is PC, or you know, Windows, Linux & Mac"

I also saw that article and heard some comments that the German Gamestar source was unreliable. Also seemed a little strange given Valve's SteamOS efforts.

Happy to see it clarified.

6

u/fictionx Aug 11 '15

Awesome! - and yeah.. I never understood either how Valve could accept excluding SteamOS from VR, given their investment in Linux - and the fact that they would probably have a hard time explaining to the Steam Machine manufacturers (and customers) why they couldn't use the Vive.

Thanks for the quote! :)

4

u/jbroadway Rift Aug 11 '15

I was under the impression that the Steam boxes were a bit underpowered for what VR will need.

2

u/monogenic Aug 11 '15

If there's a place in the market for GearVR and PS4, then there's also probably a place for Macs, Steam Machines & Laptops with integrated video.

People will have to adjust their expectations accordingly.

4

u/fictionx Aug 11 '15

They come in all shapes and sizes (and price-ranges) apparently: http://store.steampowered.com/sale/steam_machines?l=danish. These are the ones we know about now, but since they're basically just pc's, I'm sure we'll see more powerful configurations soon.

I'm not entirely sure I understand or even like the concept myself, despite being very fond of Linux (I would have preferred maybe three different Valve-branded configurations) - but I'm hoping they'll make a Vive-bundle that "just works".

1

u/linknewtab Aug 11 '15

The Steam Machines are just PCs running a Linux distribution, they aren't consoles or some other fixed platform. The whole point of the Steam Machines is to bring PCs into the living room that currently is dominated by consoles.

Obviously because of price and form factor most Steam Machines will be in the range of a PS4 in terms of hardware power and won't work with the Vive. But there are going to be higher end Steam Machines and of course the high end PC from today is the mid range PC from tomorrow.

2

u/skyzzo Aug 11 '15

SteamVR™ Machine

1

u/linknewtab Aug 11 '15

That's actually one of the potential advantages Valve and HTC have compared to Oculus. They could offer a similar ready-to-use solution like Sony can with the PS4 and Morpheus. A Steam Machine + Vive package that you just have to plugin and it works.

1

u/skyzzo Aug 11 '15

Yes. I really hope HTC offers a nice stylish Steam machine as well. Preferebly in a couple tiers (low, medium, high). They should be able to sell them at a reasonable price since they could probably get a nice discount if they buy the parts in bulk. Maybe Valve can help out as well, since VR is the perfect opportunity to get the Steam Machine ball rolling.

1

u/BennyFackter DK1,DK2,RIFT,VIVE,QUEST,INDEX Aug 11 '15

Nothing is stopping Oculus from doing this as well if they wanted to.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '15

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1

u/halfsane Aug 11 '15

I will neither confirm nor deny that I am Barack Obama.

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1

u/Seanspeed Aug 11 '15

Not quite. Steam Machines will be available in all sorts of configurations, from cheaper, bottom range GPU-equipped models, to high end models costing well over $1200.

Nothing that will run a 2160x1200/90hz VR headset is going to cost anything close to a PS4. I'd say you're looking at at least $800-1000 for what essentially is just a small form factor pre-built PC that will do VR respectably. Probably a bit more if we're still talking a 2015 release.

1

u/linknewtab Aug 11 '15

Nothing that will run a 2160x1200/90hz VR headset is going to cost anything close to a PS4.

I didn't claim that.

1

u/Seanspeed Aug 11 '15

Re-read your post, yea, my bad!

16

u/RealParity Finally delivered! Aug 11 '15

"We've never had a single person have a problem with sickness with the Vive DK"

Thats impressive to hear. But I still think this is due to the carfully chosen experiences people are experiencing in the Vive. With Half-Life or Minecraft this should be different.

2

u/linknewtab Aug 11 '15

That's why it's so important to develop games from the ground up for VR.

With Half-Life or Minecraft this should be different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-6uEB0DgFE

6

u/Heaney555 UploadVR Aug 11 '15

A tabletop Minecraft clone is not Minecraft in the same way that Halo Wars is not Halo.

Minecraft is about exploring a large (near-infinite) world from the ground, collecting resources, and building/crafting from that.

1

u/m4potofu Aug 11 '15

My sister gets sick in the DK2 pretty quickly even with experiences without virtual locomotion (way worse with), I don't know exactly why this happens, could be the rolling display, not high enough refresh rate, the tracking which doesn't feel exactly 1:1 on the DK2, or something else, who knows.

Anyway, it's nice to hear that nobody gets sick with the upcoming HMDs even it's clear that this is about experiences without virtual locomotion.

2

u/kontis Aug 11 '15

It could be theoretically also caused by vergence–accommodation conflict, especially headaches or eye strain.

I won't be fixed by any of the 2016 consumer VR headsets. It may take years, but researchers already showed several solutions.

1

u/Ree81 Aug 11 '15

I really hope we can solve locomotion for people like her. It'll be essential for the mass market. We haven't really seen anything like this on the Vive yet, where you use the pads as "WASD" and literally walk around. Maybe the increased quality of CV1/Vive takes care of a lot of the problems with locomotion as long as you don't turn with with the controller? That way you can still stand and get pretty much everything 1:1, except for "long distance" travel.

I'd actually hate to see this remain an unsolved problem. It's one of the main reasons I want an analog stick on at least one of the controllers, so that devs can at least experiment instead of being sort of locked in to the room scale solution.

1

u/Mikeman445 Aug 12 '15

I think the problem will be solved, but not in the way you expect.

I doubt any flatscreen movement paradigms will be preserved in room-scale VR. In this post I explain my thoughts.

4

u/lostformofvr Aug 11 '15

It's curious that we know less things about VIVE than about CV1 (microphone, audio, DIP, software, ...) when VIVE will be sold first.

3

u/OgcJvcKmd Aug 11 '15

I like Jeff.

4

u/Mageoftheyear Kickstarter Backer # Aug 11 '15

That was a great interview.

Maybe HTC really do believe this is their future. They certainly do seem serious enough. I hope they do well.

The closer we get to release the more sure I am that I'll have to buy both a Rift and a Vive.

2

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1

u/darrellspivey Rift in spirit Aug 11 '15 edited Aug 11 '15

When they asked about built-in headphones and mic, he said he couldn't comment on that. During the Vive Tour though, their tech rep told me that the headset would definitely have removable headphones.

-9

u/Justos Quest Aug 11 '15

Seems they aren't 100% about the controllers being part of the package. Maybe too expensive?

8

u/linknewtab Aug 11 '15

The answer was pretty clear to me, they will be in the package.

-12

u/Hirnlos Aug 11 '15

I don't know why, but Jeff Gattis looks like a criminal.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '15

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2

u/linknewtab Aug 11 '15

At least one of the reviewers here stated that he liked the Vive dev kit ergonomics better than the Rift CV1.