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New Oculus VR headset the most realistic one yet

The guys over at Oculus VR have taken the wraps off the third Oculus Rift prototype virtual reality headset. It’s code-named “Crescent Bay”, and by the account of a very enthusiastic Wes Fenlon from PC Gamer over in the US, it’s addressed many of the concerns raised by both previous Oculus Rift development kits, code-named DK1 and DK2.

For starters, it’s a lot lighter and features improved motion-tracking, but what has me excited is the fact that the two screens that direct images towards each of the wearer’s eyes have been upgraded with higher resolution and a faster refresh rate of 90Hz, although Fenlon said Oculus isn’t talking specifics quite yet. It’s apparently also a lot more comfortable to wear.

What all that means is more comfort, a much less noticeable “screen door” effect to the Rift’s visuals and a far more realistic view of whatever is being piped directly into the viewer’s visual cortex. It sounds like VR heaven.

Having only experienced a DK1 headset briefly myself at the Serious Games Conference I attended a few weeks back and been taken in by a stomach-churning rollercoaster demo despite the very Zelda-esque graphics I saw, I can only imagine how incredible Crescent Bay headsets must be.

Just Lookit that Grin
The grin says it all. Picture courtesy of Irma Myburgh of North West University.

Going on Fenlon’s account it must be utterly amazing, with Unreal Engine 4 delivering highly believable 3D environments straight to your brain that genuinely trick it into believing you’re wherever the developers want you to be. If a pixelated rollercoaster can make me grab my chair in panic, I shudder to think what being stormed by a detailed T-Rex can do.

You really want to read Fenlon’s account, though – he waxes more than eloquent about how blown away he was by the Crescent Bay prototype, which should make you even more excited about VR than you were already if you’re anything like me.

There’s still no word on when we can expect a consumer-grade version of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to arrive, but honestly, I am more than happy to wait for them to iron out all of the kinks before they head to retail. Crescent Bay sounds like a step in the right direction, and I really want Oculus VR to do everything as right as they can before the headset’s official release.

[Source – PC Gamer, Featured Image – Oculus VR Blog]

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