Oculus Rift VR headset will support Linux after release, looking like it's going to be pricey

I can't understand how one can not be allowed to have a few hours time for him/herself in the evenings now and then even if a baby is in the picture. I mean, seriously. What spouse don't allow that? Being married with children is not a jail. A family doesn't demand your attention every wake minute.

Furthermore I can not fathom how one can not be excited about the prospect of entering the game world, engulf it all around you. I just don't get it.

Obviously, I am dying to get this technology. The wait is finally over. It's been a dream ever since I saw the holodeck on Star Trek. And yes, I got a wife and children - the youngest being 6 months. As if that in any way shape or form should be an obstacle.


Last edited by Beamboom on 8 January 2016 at 10:07 pm UTC

I can't understand how one can not be allowed to have a few hours time for him/herself in the evenings now and then even if a baby is in the picture. I mean, seriously. What spouse don't allow that? Being married with children is not a jail. A family doesn't demand your attention every wake minute.

I'm going to guess you don't have your own family? They take up a lot of time.

Furthermore I can not fathom how one can not be excited about the prospect of entering the game world, engulf it all around you. I just don't get it.

Obviously, I am dying to get this technology. The wait is finally over. It's been a dream ever since I saw the holodeck on Star Trek. And yes, I got a wife and children - the youngest being 6 months. As if that in any way shape or form should be an obstacle.

It's an exciting thought, but after testing out VR myself I was left feeling a little weirded out by it. I didn't feel immersed at all as I was very aware I had something strapped to my face, with screens right in front my eyes which causes eye strain after a while.

Linux support is on the roadmap post-launch...

sounds good, but I'm not a Palmer fan.

... Mac support is on the roadmap post-decent Apple hardware release, whenever that is.

Gotta <3 him now!

I'm going to guess you don't have your own family? They take up a lot of time.

Like I said, I'm married with two kids. And they do take time - but DAYTIME. Kids go to bed around eight in the evening!

It's an exciting thought, but after testing out VR myself I was left feeling a little weirded out by it. I didn't feel immersed at all as I was very aware I had something strapped to my face, with screens right in front my eyes which causes eye strain after a while.

I assume you've tested an Oculus devkit, and I've tested those too (we got a devkit v1 at work). And those kits were not of production quality - the final version will both be lighter, less lag and with much better screens.

It's not that I think I'll forget I got a facemask on, but I fully expect the experience to be a lot greater than these devkits. Reports from guys who's tested the latest builds do claim the same.


Last edited by Beamboom on 8 January 2016 at 11:11 pm UTC

HTC Vive Pre has added a camera into their unit so you can see what's going on around you without having to take it off.

Personally I don't really have an interest in the Oculus Rift since the HTC Vive clearly provides a much more immersive experience if you have the space for it.

I'm going to guess you don't have your own family? They take up a lot of time.

Like I said, I'm married with two kids. And they do - in the DAYTIME. But kids go to bed like seven/eight in the evening!

I see what you're saying, but I don't agree with how you're thinking on it.

I couldn't put a kid to bed, slap on a VR headset and completely erase myself from a partner for an evening. It's weird, it's being isolated.

I couldn't put a kid to bed, slap on a VR headset and completely erase myself from a partner for an evening. It's weird, it's being isolated.

Not even once in a while? In your cave while she's watching some series she enjoy in the livingroom? Or while she's doing some of her hobbies? You two are going to choke each other if you don't give each other space, man!

Hell, was I kept away from gaming because of a spouse I can say right away it'd never work, ever.


Last edited by Beamboom on 8 January 2016 at 11:19 pm UTC

I'm going to guess you don't have your own family? They take up a lot of time.

Furthermore I can not fathom how one can not be excited about the prospect of entering the game world, engulf it all around you. I just don't get it.

Obviously, I am dying to get this technology. The wait is finally over. It's been a dream ever since I saw the holodeck on Star Trek. And yes, I got a wife and children - the youngest being 6 months. As if that in any way shape or form should be an obstacle.

It's an exciting thought, but after testing out VR myself I was left feeling a little weirded out by it. I didn't feel immersed at all as I was very aware I had something strapped to my face, with screens right in front my eyes which causes eye strain after a while.

Do you even read the posts you reply to, he clearly states he has a family.
I don't see how using screens attached to your face takes more time away from your family that looking across the room.

My friends and myself have children and we have no problem finding time for ourselves. Not being a single parent and keeping a proper bed time for the children helps.

I couldn't put a kid to bed, slap on a VR headset and completely erase myself from a partner for an evening. It's weird, it's being isolated.

Not even once in a while? In your cave while she's watching some series she enjoy in the livingroom? Or while she's doing some of her hobbies? You two are going to choke each other if you don't give each other space, man!

Hell, was I kept away from gaming because of a spouse I can say right away it'd never work, ever.

Of course now and then, but to pay that much (The PC needed, the headset itself etc) all for something I wouldn't realistically be able to put lots of time into, it's too much for me. We have very different views on family time and partner time it seems, so I will agree to disagree on this.

Do you even read the posts you reply to, he clearly states he has a family.
I don't see how using screens attached to your face takes more time away from your family that looking across the room.

My friends and myself have children and we have no problem finding time for ourselves. Not being a single parent and keeping a proper bed time for the children helps.

Of course I read the posts I reply to, do you think I am an idiot? People stating something on the internet doesn't make it instantly true, I didn't believe him honestly, but as above we seem to just have very different views/different relationships.

My married colleagues and I all spend at least two full evenings a week doing gaming or programming or composing music or whatever it is we want to spend our spare time doing. Then we got the weekends where we typically do stuff with the family. But weekdays? After the kids are to bed? I'm firing up Steam, baby - it's time to kill that boss! :)

My married colleagues and I all spend at least two full evenings a week doing gaming or programming or composing music or whatever it is we want to spend our spare time doing. Then we got the weekends where we typically do stuff with the family. But weekdays? After the kids are to bed? I'm firing up Steam, baby - it's time to kill that boss! :)

Hmm, I guess I sorta see your point now you put it like that. Still, am I willing to spend that many hundreds for it? Nope.

I would never use it around friends, since I like to properly socialise at the very least once a week, and I don't consider sticking on a VR headset when I have friends around/I go to a friends as socialising, it's isolating yourself again. It was awkward enough when I tested the headset with three family members sitting around.

I was ready to pre-order a Rift the other day.. I had my bank card out and was pressing f5 like a mad man when the timer ran down and was open for orders. Then I saw the price tag when the page finally loaded and I just couldn't do it.

After seeing all the articles around the net about the price and reading the comments on those articles I was obviously not the only one who suffered "sticker shock" and then backed away. MANY people (myself included) were expecting $400-450(USD) which was what Oculus/Palmer had been leading us to believe for so long.

Honestly it was probably for the best... My PC is probably capable (5930k+3x970) for it but there just isn't really content for it yet. Sure there are some 3rd party tools to get some games to work with it, but unless you want to play a bunch of glorified demos/outright demos there's hardly any native content.

Then there's the fact that there are other HMD's that are going to be entering the market soon and that may shake things up as far as price goes. On that same train of thought I also worry about all of these HMD's having their own SDK's and it turning into a fiasco of what games work on which HMD.

Then as far as Linux goes there's still the MAJOR problem that we STILL lack a real SLI/Multi GPU solution that is going to be necessary to get the best experience and that's not going to change until games start coming with Vulkan. The rift is 2k PER EYE.. that's 4K that needs to be stably rendered @ 90+ FPS to keep from getting nauseated. Even my PC would struggle to do that using 3 970's in winblows without turning down graphical settings.

So.. yea.. I'm kind of glad the price was $150-$200 more than I was ready to spend. Now that getting one RIGHT NOW is out of my head I think I'm just going to sit back and watch what happens with VR in 2016 and maybe revisit the idea later.. I'll just continue gaming @ 5760x1080 ;)

Echoing Liam here, but I can't see myself enjoying anything at all with a huge gadget strapped to my face. Screw immersion if that's what it takes. I have trouble enough dealing with heavy headphones, let alone these monstrosities.

Of course I see this appealing to a certain crowd, and I'm sure a portion of them have the disposable income for this kind of lunacy. I'm definitely not part of that crowd though.

I was skeptical about VR as well until I played the oculus DK2 with Doom. I just had fun playing a game I was bored to death playing years ago because it felt like a new experience. I'm sorry, but there is no way this thing is a fad. It's literally changes your whole perspective about gaming.

And it's not only useful for games, but I can see it doing well in things like for education, online chating, military simulations, and virtual sporting events. I actually think gaming is going to be the least popular thing about VR. Pricing is going to be a bit high at the moment, but just like all new technology the enthusiasts will adopt it first and then the normal consumers will get there hands on it about 2-3 years.


Last edited by BillNyeTheBlackGuy on 9 January 2016 at 1:35 am UTC

I couldn't put a kid to bed, slap on a VR headset and completely erase myself from a partner for an evening. It's weird, it's being isolated.

Well, IMO, that is just crazy talk for a married man. For day to day stuff (not special vaca/trips) I need several hours of self time every night - an occasional movie/dinner night, and a little cuddle time when I finally crawl into bed, I'm good!

But maybe I'm the weird one, I'm married but no kids - and that's the single biggest thing my wife never forgave me for. Sounds unrelated to this thread, but really it is. I started thinking about just how much self time I'd be losing if I knocked her up, and got *very* cold feet to the idea after that. Sure, I'll die old and alone, but I plan to have lots of Holo-Deck time leading up to that sad demise!

But I get some people are way more socially oriented than I am. Like you sound to be. That's cool too.

GearVR + VR Cinema + Trans-continental/oceanic flight = Killer App.

All the points TheBoss makes are valid: too expensive, too incongruent, etc. Also, motion sickness is REAL with these things! 20 minutes of Half-Life 2 and it's Game Over for me.

Yeah, I am also of the opinion TheBoss will change his mind once he finds his first "oh sh**" moment in VR. I also own the DK2, and many of the VR experiences out there so far do kind of suck. But if you keep hunting around and loading them up, you eventually come across a few that blow your mind.

Then you start thinking about the future of VR and the crazy wild possibilities of it. I personally think flight/space/racing sims are going to see a huge explosion sometime in the future. DCS World and the P-51 Mustang were one of my "oh sh**" VR moments.

I'm glad Linux support is still on their minds, it's still too pricey for me to buy it without tending to other things but I'll definitely consider it in the future. Also, for the past 11 years I've wanted to play Morrowind as if I was inside the game. I've held onto that dream all this time and finally I can say it's almost true.

As for the Time Doctor blog post, I agree with Beamboom, even if one has a family he/she should still be able to find free time for their hobbies. I think the biggest challenge this can be to a family is the steep selling price itself, not everyone can throw 600$ for a pair of goggles.

My son bought the DK2 version Christmas 2014 for a lot less than they're charging for the final product, having tested it myself I'd love to have one, but not at that price & not without full Linux support, I'm gutted as it's a fantastic bit of kit but there's no way I'm spending that much money on it.

ps. Half-Life 2 is brilliant in 3d & I didn't get any motion sickness.

GearVR + VR Cinema + Trans-continental/oceanic flight = Killer App.

All the points TheBoss makes are valid: too expensive, too incongruent, etc. Also, motion sickness is REAL with these things! 20 minutes of Half-Life 2 and it's Game Over for me...............

I have suffered with terrible motion sickness in some of my fav games, all the way back from when I used to play Doom. Funnily enough I never had a problem with some fps, but games like HL2 would make me want to barf. Finally found out you need the right FOV for your display/resolution and boom no more motion sickness. Had the same problem with Talos Principle recently and once setting the FOV between 90-100... amazing.

As I imagine the VR is a fully emersive experience, I would hope they fix things that cause motion sickness from the start.

I think I would buy one if their were enough good games, proper linux support and the reviews give it a thumbs up. But they can't go too high on the pricing or else nobody is going to buy one.

Personally I have no interest at all in VR, I see it a bit like 3D movies which were hyped up a lot, but after having seen it I usually go out of my way to avoid it in cinemas etc.
Besides the price, I have two major problems with VR: motion sickness, and the problem with doing other things while gaming, be it sipping a cup of coffee, checking my phone or just looking out the window once in a while. Maybe I'm just too casual a gamer for VR! ;-)
Sure, it could be fun to try it once but I would never buy one for myself.

I can't understand how one can not be allowed to have a few hours time for him/herself in the evenings now and then even if a baby is in the picture. I mean, seriously. What spouse don't allow that? Being married with children is not a jail. A family doesn't demand your attention every wake minute.

I'm going to guess you don't have your own family? They take up a lot of time.

If you have boys/girls, you buy VR for them, not for you.


On topic:
Occulus firmly stated they wont support Linux previously.
While they make up their mind I will clearly support htc vive.


Last edited by tony1ab on 9 January 2016 at 1:06 pm UTC