A Question on Pathfinder
Xain
Posts: 128
Just had a few questions about this Pathfinder program since I didn't stumble upon you guys until some time after the Kickstarter ended and ordered my Omni either last year or the year before. Back when it was 450$ (lucky!)
But looking through some of the old blog posts there were set to be what, 50 Pathfinder units to be made to go out before the rest right? Why?
Is this a kickstarter thing? Where you guys are obligated to give these 50 out to a certain tier of backers? Or is this sort of a use these guys to test out the Omni for flaws before we ship the rest? Also why does it seem like you are only delivering like 10 of them a month if even, are you personally delivering them or something?
Honestly my thought was, "Well I could care less when it ships since Oculus is pussy footing around and will never actually release it." and I'm sure that you guys weren't all too worried about shipping as well since whats an Omni with no HMD? Fast forward to today and not only have Oculus released preorders and a ship date but so have the Vive. Me personally, I will be getting a Vive and it seems now instead i'll have my HMD by April and no Omni to use it with let alone a time frame.
So lets be real, no PR response. My Omni number is around 2700. When you say ramp up your production will you have the ability to fill out hundreds per month or thousands? And are you planning on continuing with your slow shipment of your Pathfinders or are we gonna see a speed increase of that since the HMDs will be here in a month?
But looking through some of the old blog posts there were set to be what, 50 Pathfinder units to be made to go out before the rest right? Why?
Is this a kickstarter thing? Where you guys are obligated to give these 50 out to a certain tier of backers? Or is this sort of a use these guys to test out the Omni for flaws before we ship the rest? Also why does it seem like you are only delivering like 10 of them a month if even, are you personally delivering them or something?
Honestly my thought was, "Well I could care less when it ships since Oculus is pussy footing around and will never actually release it." and I'm sure that you guys weren't all too worried about shipping as well since whats an Omni with no HMD? Fast forward to today and not only have Oculus released preorders and a ship date but so have the Vive. Me personally, I will be getting a Vive and it seems now instead i'll have my HMD by April and no Omni to use it with let alone a time frame.
So lets be real, no PR response. My Omni number is around 2700. When you say ramp up your production will you have the ability to fill out hundreds per month or thousands? And are you planning on continuing with your slow shipment of your Pathfinders or are we gonna see a speed increase of that since the HMDs will be here in a month?
Comments
My understanding is the pathfinder program is basically to do a full, but small production run to streamline the process and validate that there are no major issues with the production version. Its one thing to have to send out 50 replacement units its another thing to have to send out 3000 replacements.
I take it the 50 pathfinders were chosen from devs who already had an HMD? I suppose that does seem logical, I am still curious as to why all 50 were not delievered at the same time then if that is the case. With the first being shipped back in December and more to come in the coming weeks its kind of odd. They are shipping from China right?
Chill out, market analysis and prediction is the entire basis of the consumer economy, and each of us are entitled to our opinions. Even if it admittedly isn't technically in the right part of the forums. I just wish the Pathfinders had the time to test both products out extensively enough to give us some direction on either one. I'll be getting the Oculus at the end of the month myself.
I. Don't. Care.
I told you once before kindly but since you obviously couldn't understand what I said before pay close attention now:
This post is not about HMDs, I want to discuss whats going on with the Omni, Pathfinders and Preorder. I gave you a place to go discuss which HMD you believe is better than which. Oculus Rift? HTC Vive? They're both awesome pieces of technology, I just happened to throw my money in with the Vive for certain reasons.
The Lighthouse tracking is currently by far the least expensive, most flexible and dependable tracking system at the consumer level. It can do anything from 180 degree sitting to 360 degree room scale up to 5M^2. There is no opinion there, its all fact. Also you don't need to dedicate a room to VR, though some will. For most people simply moving a coffee table to the side of the room will give most people more than enough space, you don't need 5M^2 its simply the current maximum allowed space.
Not to mention that Lighthouse is an open standard that any one can use for anything without ever asking Valve or even letting them know, last I checked the only requirement is that you stick to the standard and not modify it.
Also the litigation argument is weak. People start lawsuit's for spilling coffee on there own lap. Will someone start litigation about breaking a toe or arm or something, eventually yes its inevitable. trampolines are my favorite example of a product that is inherently dangerous and yet they are still for sale and the trampoline market is a tiny fraction of what the VR market will be, hell is right now. If companies stoped making products because they where afraid of someone opening a lawsuit we sure wouldn't be getting the Omni!!
Considering it hasn't been released yet, this is very silly. When they have all been released, and I get them in my hands to try them all (yes I have ordered them all), then I will be convinced.
I usually give Virtuix the benefit of the doubt as this is there first product and its an accessory for another product that's not even out yet so waiting has not been a big deal. However I now have a date to get a consumer HMD and it is fast approaching. So I have to agree with you in that they really should communicate when the pathfinder program is going to end and when the real production run will start.
@xxann5 I still don't think of the Omni as a peripheral to an HMD. It's a PC peripheral, and so is an HMD, right? You can't have a full PC-based VR experience without an Omni, HMD, and speakers/headphones, plus a hand-held controller; in the same way that you can't have a full non-VR PC experience without a keyboard, mouse (or touchpad), monitor, and speakers/headphones. You wouldn't say the mouse is a peripheral to the keyboard, or vice versa, or to the monitor. They're all PC peripherals that make a certain kind of content work. I guess the reason people think that the HMD is a platform and anything attached to it is a peripheral, is because something doesn't seem to become 'VR' unless it's viewed through one. In my opinion though, VR is a sliding scale, and there is certainly a big jump when you add an HMD, but it is still just one component of the whole. The thing that is actually generating the virtual reality is the PC or smartphone; the rest is subjective. For instance, I feel like the HMD is a peripheral to the Omni!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1944625487/omni-move-naturally-in-your-favorite-game/posts/1515007 Not exactly a definitive date but at least its something.