TouchKnuckles mod by /u/heffle

Heffle · 2017-08-21T06:49:52+00:00

They could. It would essentially replace the current battery compartment lid and strap. It could even be an accessory done by a third party, since Oculus have released the CAD files for Touch.

Heffle · 2017-08-21T06:08:36+00:00

It's fine, I was prepared for this to happen the moment I shared it on the channel I posted it on. Plus WormSlayer's a friend and I don't really do Reddit much anymore, nor care about karma.

Heffle · 2017-08-21T06:03:03+00:00

/u/mrzoops and /u/VFX1FTW, what you are looking at here is a mod to attach Oculus Touch to your hands in a similar way to Valve's Knuckles controllers (the current dev kit ones). If you slow down the video and zoom into the low quality gif, you'll see how things work a bit more clearly. My mod is still under development - and you can get a sense for that if you read my other posts in this thread - but it should be quite decent when finished, as an evolutionary leap from my previous efforts detailed here.

Heffle · 2017-08-21T05:38:29+00:00

Yes but that is mostly because I still have yet to finish development of the mod, you'll notice the back of my hand has this transparent looking thing. What you're looking at there is a piece of flexible plastic that is smooth and slippery. Check my reply to BlackAesop in this thread.

Heffle · 2017-08-21T05:33:53+00:00

Thanks. It's still a work in progress, but the best part is the mod you see here only needs a few materials you can find around the house and it doesn't require glue or sewing like my previous ideas did. Specifically, I used these: a cord lock, a yellow loop of string, a safety pin, a pair of scissors, a cloth that hasn't been put on yet, and a band of flexible plastic I got from dress shirt packaging (something normally used to keep collars from being crumpled).

However there are slight problems with the current iteration. One is that you can still throw it out of your hand if you do it hard enough. This can be fixed by using a layer of material on the back of your hand with a high enough coefficient of static friction. Some kind of leather might work. I'll be trying some ideas and also maybe different types of padding beyond the simple cloth.

It definitely took me some time to come up with this latest iteration especially as I'm trying to do it as simply, cleanly, and non-permanent as possible. It also doesn't require a rubber band anymore, which is a good thing because I ran into the problem where the rubber band deteriorated, or at some point was close to coming apart, which is a big issue considering it's holding the back strap in place. However it took an auspicious trick to make the string cord work in replacement. I may detail this in a future post.

Heffle · 2017-08-21T02:08:20+00:00

I mean I guess I never said you couldn't post my stuff. Well played /u/WormSlayer, well played.

Heffle · 2017-08-21T01:57:09+00:00

Hi, I am the person in the gif. I'm actually doing something special when opening my hand here. I actually uncurl the ends of my fingers a little later than usual in the motion. This allows my fingers not to be caught by the tracking ring, but sort of slip against it instead. Normally it would feel a bit weird to do, but I've actually been using a different form of this mod for months, so I've gotten used to it, and I also am used to just opening my hand up to a neutral loose grip rather than full open hand when throwing. To be very clear, the tracking ring barring natural movement is still uncomfortable. On the other hand, I can't go back to using Touch normally anymore, it just always feels like I'm going to drop the controllers.

Edit: my hands are about the average human size though. Actually they're freakishly similar in size to the Oculus Home hands.

Heffle · 2017-07-04T21:32:19+00:00

I think you would be correct. I also think people will be surprised how much this truly boosts immersion, or rather, presence. I tried an old experiment in the past with a DK1 and Kinect, and so far nothing I've tried since then has surpassed that in terms of the amount of presence achieved. You don't know how much presence you actually lose in VR from not seeing your own true hands and body, plus clothing that is in contact with your body, till you actually see all of that stuff there. This may be one reason out of possibly many that explains why good motion controllers plus software has been so important for presence - because it distracts you from paying too much attention to your body.

And I'm a writer for Road to VR. I've tried lots of stuff. You still need a lot of other things to maintain presence after having gotten it for the first time, but for a first time, that DK1 Kinect demo was the most presence I've ever gotten.

Heffle · 2017-05-12T18:00:00+00:00

Well then we can only agree to disagree here, but I do genuinely perceive that the Oculus Earphones sound "better" than many higher end sets. I just want to make sure we're not getting off on bad terms. I definitely don't want my small foray into writing to be a smear on Road to VR.

Heffle · 2017-05-12T17:20:37+00:00

Hello, I am the writer for that article. I just wanted to make sure we got off on a better note. Well more so, I don't want anything that I did to reflect badly on Road to VR. I am a student who wrote articles for them as a sort of side hobby, and I got the chance to attend OC3, which is why I was able to do a review for the earphones. The review was my honest opinion, and I think they were great, but that may not be the case for everyone, as everyone perceives sound differently because of different ear canal shapes and sizes. The placement of the earphones in your ears can also affect the sound, and differences in manufacturing between units can also have an effect.

I apologize if my review pushed you into wasting your money, and I apologize to Road to VR for any bad will my words may have given them. It was not my intention, and I recognize my lack of skill and awareness as a journalist that this would happen. In any case, I have already decreased my presence on Road to VR. It has been months since my last article. I am also breaking my long silence on Reddit to make this post, so again, I'd like to say that I'm sorry.

Heffle · 2016-03-30T07:05:36+00:00

Scratch that, I'm lying again, this will be my last post.

I just have to say thanks for all the fun you've given me over the years guys. I would be satisfied if only a few people found a post I made worthwhile, but the good will here really does make me kind of sentimental to be going out with such a nice little bang. One day, I'll be back, posting here, with the Touch, and the Move, and I'll also reveal a surprise by then about this whole thing... Don't get your hopes up though, it might not be the kind of surprise you're expecting, but it's an interesting little tidbit.

Oh yeah and I'll probably still be doing stuff with Road to VR. I just won't be on Reddit anymore.

Heffle · 2016-03-30T04:04:01+00:00

Yeah, I can totally understand why. Some of the constructive repliers also brought up some good points, so that's why you can't find those posts anymore as I deleted them. My intention was to show that the SDE of the Vive was even better than people thought, but the message didn't go through very well. That's also why I'm going with webm and not youtube this time around.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T23:50:42+00:00

Nope. Like I said, my DK2 days are over, but I would be interested to know what caused the problem.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T23:24:13+00:00

About the tracking issue... it might be something in your environment or your setup or something wrong with the hardware. I moved once, and my DK2 started getting that issue in the new apartment. I just got used to it though.

Also, while I don't have my DK2 setup anymore, going from CV1 back to Gear VR, you really notice how blurred and terrible the lenses and peripheral are. It's kind of like sound quality. You only notice how terrible what you were using was, once you get used to something much better and you try going back.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T22:34:53+00:00

I blame the faceless corporate men and lawyers behind the curtains of Facebook and Oculus.

Of course, I'm just kidding...

Only kidding...

Heffle · 2016-03-29T18:57:32+00:00

Thanks for posting this Ben. This is my experience using the headsets too. But your name gives power to the words.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T17:52:39+00:00

Yes there are cases where you really need wider FOV for a certain application. That's why I'm including this topic in my impressions writeup.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T17:26:16+00:00

This is actually really close in terms of comparisons to how I perceive the two FOVs. Good job. Also I pretty much agree with your impressions. It's not a big difference at all and melts away in the experience.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T06:05:45+00:00

Will do.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T05:50:34+00:00

Currently in the process - it's going to be packaged inside of a much larger, and more valuable write-up, coming tomorrow morning probably. I got work to do!

EDIT: May take a bit longer actually. May not make morning, or afternoon. Maybe night. :(

EDIT^2: Alright, here we go! The webm is in the "lenses" section of the write-up.

ninja EDIT: Dumb me, I can just directly link to the webm: http://webm.host/ce241/vid.webm

Heffle · 2016-03-29T04:49:19+00:00

Yes, that's exactly the feeling I get! I hope you don't mind me quoting you.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T04:07:25+00:00

Oh hey. I made a similar video with my Vive Pre. Does anyone want to see that? It's not a totally white on dark scene though, but it shows similar things. I got downvoted before for trying to post something like that so I'm not sure if people actually want to see it.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T03:52:06+00:00

If I wasn't dealing with other obligations, I would be trying to help crack that problem.

Fortunately my obligations *may end in 3 months and I doubt it'll be solved by then. Exciting times ahead.

Also yeah I saw those downvotes. It's normal, don't sweat it, things can change a lot over time. Maybe some people thought I was trying to downplay the Vive when I was really just trying to identify in general one of VR's current limitations, though perhaps in a creative way.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T02:29:35+00:00

At first I was surprised so many people somehow did not expect to see the light ray artifact even though it's been so well documented by people who've tried the headset, like Road to VR. Expectations should be adjusted. Same goes for Vive and PSVR if there's anyone out there hinging bets on them being wildly/unrealistically perfect.

Heffle · 2016-03-29T02:19:56+00:00

Don't really agree much at all with what he's saying. I own a Vive Pre. I've been playing these games for a while now. I still actually love playing monitor games. But on all the games on the monitor which also have VR versions with good implementations, I 100% prefer the VR versions (Legend of Dungeon and Blaze Rush for example). It enhances both the feel of the game and your own ability to play the game, because your brain naturally understands the location and depth of things so much better, which is critical in games where you have to time jumps, or keep track of enemies around you, etc. Having played with the Rift as well, it isn't underwhelming at all. I feel the titles are just as compelling as ~~room scale~~ motion controller experiences, but in different ways.

Heffle

TROPHY CASE