A VR Developer's Thoughts On The Current Mess Of APIs & Hardware

[phoronix]

Phoronix: A VR Developer's Thoughts On The Current Mess Of APIs & Hardware

The current VR landscape is fragmented and quite a mess with the lack of standardization and wide variety of hardware capabilities at this point, though fortunately the forthcoming OpenXR standard coming out of The Khronos Group for a standard API for application developers as well as a standard device layer / abstraction interface will clear this up when released later in 2018. But for now we have some interesting remarks from an open-source developer that has been engaging in this area and doing his best with the current VR scene...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=The-VR-Standard-Hardware-Mess

[tiwake]

As far as I can tell, things were chugging along fine until facebook bought the oculus rift and canceled linux support out from underneath the kickstarter backers. Even though I was not one of these backers, it PO's me.

Interesting (very large) post by haagch lays it all out very concisely.

[kaprikawn]

My thoughts on VR is that it gets far more attention than it deserves.

It may be the hot new thing that captivates developer interest, but most of us regard it as expensive and impractical (in terms of space requirements for example). Enough companies with very deep pockets seem to be forging ahead with it which may see it succeed in the long run. But there's no guarantee of that and there's still a very real chance that VR will turn out to be the next 3D TV.

[devius]

My thoughts on VR is that it gets far more attention than it deserves. (...) there's still a very real chance that VR will turn out to be the next 3D TV.

Or the next VR again....

[mike44]

Waiting impatiently to try OpenXR with my Samsung Odyssey.

[eydee]

My thoughts on VR is that it gets far more attention than it deserves.

It may be the hot new thing that captivates developer interest, but most of us regard it as expensive and impractical (in terms of space requirements for example). Enough companies with very deep pockets seem to be forging ahead with it which may see it succeed in the long run. But there's no guarantee of that and there's still a very real chance that VR will turn out to be the next 3D TV.

Yep, this. VR looks like a 3D TV with Kinect, running on DirectX 10.1.

[Sniperfox47]

Enough companies with very deep pockets seem to be forging ahead with it which may see it succeed in the long run. But there's no guarantee of that and there's still a very real chance that VR will turn out to be the next 3D TV.

I see it a little different. It's more likely to be like Google Glass than 3D TVs in that it might not catch on with consumers but it has enough of an Enterprise application that it would just shift to that being it's primary focus.

[starshipeleven]

Yep, this. VR looks like a 3D TV with Kinect, running on DirectX 10.1.

I suggest to check your eyesight, that's not anywhere near even crappy VR like Google Cardboard.

[starshipeleven]

I see it a little different. It's more likely to be like Google Glass than 3D TVs in that it might not catch on with consumers but it has enough of an Enterprise application that it would just shift to that being it's primary focus.

Google Glass is AR (augmented reality), another beast entirely. AR is supposed to integrate with reality by providing you a "game-like HUD" over the real world. Google Glasses or MS's hololens are using a mostly clear visor, you can see through it.

VR isolates you from reality and creates its own virtual world. All VR headsets place a screen in front of your eyes, you don't see reality unless it's fed back through a camera.

[starshipeleven]

It may be the hot new thing that captivates developer interest, but most of us regard it as expensive and impractical (in terms of space requirements for example). Enough companies with very deep pockets seem to be forging ahead with it which may see it succeed in the long run. But there's no guarantee of that and there's still a very real chance that VR will turn out to be the next 3D TV.

The main difference is that 3D TV had the same issue of 4k TV or even "anything that isn't crappy 720p with shitty color range" TV. Media providers don't feel like upgrading their infrastructure to actually make enough new media to make the new technology worthwhile.

With PC or even console it's not the case. Many games have at least basic VR support and there are types of games where VR makes a lot of sense (like simulators, flight or driving) where the VR is integrated to higher levels. Of course it is currently a high-roller niche, but even when tech matures and prices will come down it will still remain a segment of a bigger market, it won't just replace all gaming.