Thursday, June 16, 2016

Dev update #15


This week we are not pushing app updates because we are trying to wrap up the 1.0 launch as fast as we can so we can go back to things we love doing the most - features and bugfixes. The launch is scheduled to happen early next week.

Pricing details

We were often asked about the final price of VRidge. People were wondering if it's going to be subscription based or maybe some kind of freemium model with unlockable qualities. Some people suggested ads but ads can support product only if it has millions of installs. Also, they would break immersion and they are often annoying. We are sure that flashing warning with "Your phone has a 32 viruses! Fix! Now!" in the middle of your immersive VR session would be terribly bad.

So we decided that the best choice would be something very simple - one-time payment. No quality tiers. No "insert coin to continue playing" every now and then.

We think that beta testers deserve a better deal because they were with us from the first days, they gave us a lot of feedback and tips to fix bugs. Some of you suggested cool features that we implemented (FreeTrack for example). So beta testers pay only 50% of the final price.

We also want to continue development in the future. We have a lot of ideas and some more bugfixing to do. We want to reduce bandwidth, reduce artifacts, fix incompatible phones, create GearVR native version and iOS app. We want to add more tracking options, better integrations with hand tracking controllers, we want to provide you the best Rift/Vive-like experience for a fraction of a price.

But this takes time and we don't think it would be fair for someone to buy it half a year from now with most (or all) of those features implemented for the same price people have to pay now. So we're starting with early access discount of 25% for all non-beta users registered after today. We will give at least one week notice (probably more) when this discount is going to expire. It's not going to happen too soon because we still have a lot of polishing to do.

Okay, enough words, you want to hear numbers. Regular price would be $19.99/19.99 EUR but this will be in effect once we declare that we are happy with all the features and no major bugs remain. This is not going to happen anytime soon so the actual amounts will be:

EUR*USD*% off
9.99€$9.99(-50%)Beta testers, all users registered before 16/06/2016**
14.99€$14.99(-25%)Early access - everyone else***

*All applicable taxes included.
**Beta discounts will expire 1 month after release.
***Early access will expire at some undefined point in the future. We will give at least 1 week notice.

Accepted payment method will be PayPal only but we will try to add something else if many of you ask us to. You will be able to buy it early next week. We won't have any downtimes (hopefully, unless something goes wrong) so you will be able to continue using VRidge without interruptions.

Free version

Free version will be time-limited. We believe everyone has to try the product before deciding if it's worth spending money on. There are a lot of 3rd party components so we want to give a way for everyone to test their hardware and system before buying. Free version will be limited to 10 minutes per session. It's enough to run some short experience fully and it should be enough to test out bigger games.

Will I have to buy it again for GearVR / iOS?

No. We are not asking you to pay again for the same thing on multiple devices. Please keep in mind that we will try our best to deliver those versions but it's not a promise because those versions can be blocked by things outside our control (Samsung/Oculus closing down GearVR SDK for example). We don't see any major obstacles now but we cannot predict the future.

What's next?

We want to keep updating VRidge further. This takes time and money and this is exactly the reason we ask a price equivalent to 1-2 cinema tickets. This will allow us to buy more phones to test, more devices, motion controllers. We want to keep up with PC VR and continue providing the best PC VR to mobile VR solution. GearVR and iOS versions will be our summer priority. We also want to get rid of bugs with some incompatible devices (Zenfone 2, few Huawei models, old Galaxy models, among others). Oh, and the heat is still an issue - we want to reduce it. 

We will also continue to listen to your suggestion. After all, we're making this software for your needs and we are really greatful for all the feedback and suggestions. Some of you went above and beyond with error reporting. All the recordings, logs, dump files, thousands of e-mails. We couldn't wish for better testers than all of you.

Thank you!

RiftCat Team

50 comments:

  1. Great work on this! The beta works really well, especially with Elite Dangerous. I look forward to the full release and future updates. Very fair pricing for this too! Can't wait for 1.0 to drop.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really love the work you guys are doing. The pricing is great and you deserve every penny. So excited to see where the project goes in the future!

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  3. Great, love to hear that there will be one time fee. I am in :) Great work guys!

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  4. Your product is so good that i would forfeit the early access/beta tester discount. You deserve every dime you ask.

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  5. I love this software and Question is how it looks in PLN?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It will be auto-converted from 9.99 EUR so something like 40-50 PLN, depending on bank's/paypal currency exchange rate.

      Delete
  6. I recently sold my Meizu MX5 (Helio X10) to change for Galaxy S6. The improvement with the latest version has been fantastic but there are still problems with tracking.

    Currently, besides my BoboVr Z4 I have a Gear VR, and experience with Gear VR is infinitely better than any external or mobile sensor. It would be fantastic Riftcat in Gear VR. I tried "Intugame Gear VR" and it works pretty decently, but your solution is much better.

    In addition to OpenTrack / Freetrack I managed to have 6DOF (Aruco + webcam), winning a lot immersion.

    And above all to have the demos of Oculus using Revive. Games like Lucky's Tale, Farlands, Invasion, etc

    I wonder if development in Gear VR is possible, if you can get, because for me if you get it to work, you have my money without any problem.

    Habeis managed to bring everyone the VR experience without having to spend 900 € in a HDM.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The price is very resaonable. The work is amazing and i hope the problems with Zenfone 2 will be soon solved. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Here is my ultimate solution against overheating in Riftcat:
    https://www.yadi.sk/d/8zJV5O47dbNFv/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Awesome, i have the zenphone 2 "buy or not buy , that is the question", one month to decide.

    But I think I'll buy independent to encourage their work.

    I am very excited about the project , congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pretty sure Zenfones will be fixed before discount expires. :)

      Delete
  10. Is it going to work without internet access needed ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, after buying it online it should work offline, like Steam games you bought on Steam.

      Delete
  11. Could you add paysafecard as a payment option?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some people asked for PayPal alternative so we are trying to find alternative payment processor that will include variety of other payment options. This won't available on release because altering payment system requires some intensive testing.

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    2. why just don't sell it on Google Playstore ?

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    3. Because we would have to charge again at iOS/GearVR stores and we don't want to charge multiple times for the same software. That's why it's easier to bind the payment to e-mail account rather than Google Play account.

      Delete
    4. Why not make it free on stores, make an in-app purchase option and use online authentication to know which user is premium or not?

      Delete
  12. Quick Question: Will it be compatible with PSMoveService

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. According to users on our subreddit it already works with PSMoveService:

      https://www.reddit.com/r/vridge/comments/4o4nk5/riftcat_issue_with_psmove/d4bnheg?context=10000

      Delete
  13. I was afraid the pricing would be somewhat indecent but I think it's quite fair. I will gladly purchase this, not only to keep using it but to help you guys with future improvements.

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  14. Totally fair pricing and don't make the mistake of Vorpx in not having a limited time demo. People will need to see if this works on their phones. So is the purchase made on your site for a license code,in app, or on Google play? I'm a beta tester who's more than happy to pay for this. It has been gradually getting better from the beginning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On our site, through PayPal checkout button. More payment methods coming soon.

      Delete
  15. is this 1.0 version already going to work in background on Android ? just sending sensors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, background mode will not make it into 1.0 release.

      Delete
  16. Can you add more payment methods. Because some countries can't use PayPal (ex. Turkey :( )

    ReplyDelete
  17. Please add more payment methods (Stripe API?). I can't use Paypal - they banned me for life for something dumb, froze my funds without appeal and perma-banned me down to my SSN!

    Love your software and hope to use it into the future.

    ReplyDelete
  18. could you plz add visa

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  19. Hmm I'm wondering if kinect could be implemented for body tracking. That would be pretty cool.

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  20. If I buy a Sony z5 premium with 4k. I will see vridge in 4k changhing the resolution in the ini file?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can edit width and height in RiftCat/Config/vridgeQuality.cfg for custom resolutions.

      "Width": 3840,
      "Height": 2160,

      4k rendering requires extremely powerful video card and a game that is is not too graphics-heavy. 4k VR gaming requires ~8x more power than regular 1080p60 non-VR gaming.

      Delete
  21. I would like to buy this. but can't because Wifi sucks. I tried tethering using USB, but i can't "officially" do it because I won't pay sprint for it. I also cannot root my phone because LG deemed it necessary to lock the LG G4. I tried usb tethering in other ways to no success.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Is it like steam it's linked to my account so if needed I just download again. PS loved the work you Pep's done have you thought about talking deals with. Chinese companies of vr cases for phones is maybe they could bundle your software with there items for a fee for you or any independent company's just a thought I been there and they are always looking for remarkable ideas best of luck

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And Polish also (RiftCat is polish software and in Poland is also great VR headsets manufactures).

      Delete
  23. Replies
    1. Please see this article:
      https://support.riftcat.com/hc/en-us/articles/208557449-Buying-VRidge

      Delete
  24. That's super great ! you made my project possible and more exciting. But i didn't understand when you said "Grab your discounted full VRidge now by logging into your RiftCat client." in the news letter.
    I got nothing special ?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please see this article:
      https://support.riftcat.com/hc/en-us/articles/208557449-Buying-VRidge

      Delete
  25. I'd say this all sounds quite reasonable. Congratulations for making it this far, and good work!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I tested it with 660 and it wasn't too great but it worked. See for yourself. Some games may run just fine but graphics-intensive titles may have some troubles. Also, low-end GPU may cause increased latency.

    You can use as many 10 minute sessions as you want without paying anything. It should be enough to test some games.

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  27. can you please offer payment through literally anything but Paypal? I will not use them, as they use their virtual monopoly to dictate morality, freezing and seizing the accounts of merchants that sell something they find 'morally objectionable,' from artwork to literature to uh... novelty items.
    TL;DR Paypal is bad people and I don't do business through them. I'd rather mail a bag of pennies and pay the ahipping cost on top.

    ReplyDelete
  28. We know about all the PayPal problems but it was the fastest solution to integrate. We can manually process credit card payments too. E-mail us at support@riftcat.com with "manual payment" in title.

    We're going to try to find alternative payment processors too.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'd love to be able to experience this! I'd happily pay for it too.... only problem is, i have a Samsung Galaxy S4, (which i've tried and won't work correctly...), and an iPhone, neither of which are supported by your software. As soon as one of these is able to utilize the software then i'm on it! Any ideas how i can get either to be able to work with your app? I realize that you don't have an ios version at the moment but i hope one is due very soon! Many thanks for any help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Currently you won't be able to use VRidge on iOS. On Galaxy S4 however, it should work as long as you have Android 5.0+

      Delete
  30. Please no PayPal, I don't have credit card but I can make a Virtual Card Number from my bank account (which is denied by PayPal).

    ReplyDelete
  31. I think you guys are missing your target in price. I just finished playing the short trial after a lengthy install. It's still in progress that I can tell. $10.00 seems about right. But I'm going to pass at $14.00. Go gear vr use the extra sensors smooth out some of the jerkyness.

    ReplyDelete
  32. See, im cheap, so i need a FREE UNLIMITED TIME app to play VR games with. I just want to play it for free for as long as I want. I hate things like this where its limited time for free, and u have to "pay to play" for the rest of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  33. See, im cheap, so i need a FREE UNLIMITED TIME app to play VR games with. I just want to play it for free for as long as I want. I hate things like this where its limited time for free, and u have to "pay to play" for the rest of the time.

    ReplyDelete