VR Cover told UploadVR via email late last night that its long-awaited facial interfaces for the Oculus Rift have officially begun shipping. A spokesperson for the company explained that the accessory is already being sent to backers of the successful Kickstarter campaign that created these items. VR Cover also “hopes to have them available for general release in a few weeks.”
According to the company, these Rift interfaces come in two styles: “A regular version and longer version designed for users with glasses. The set includes a couple of removable foam replacements with a PU leather outer fabric so they’re super easy to clean.” The shipment will also include the standard VR Cover comfort-focused, fabric face padding as well.
On its Kickstarter page, VR Cover said it “reverse-engineered the Oculus Rift’s own facial interface and, after some helpful talks with Oculus, we were able to perfect our design.”
There are multiple options available for the interfaces themselves as well:
“One currently available option is a thinner foam replacement that positions your eyes closer to the headset lenses to increase your field of vision. The second option is similarly shaped to the stock foam that comes with the Oculus Rift, but is extremely comfortable as it’s constructed from memory foam.”
Having a variety of faceplate options is something that Rift users have been desiring for quite some time. Oculus itself originally promised to provide different types of interfaces with every Oculus Rift but that promise has so far went unfulfilled. Since then, users with glasses, or those requiring a slightly augmented fit for their headset in one form or another, have had to wait on third party producers like VR Cover to provide a fix.
The absence of official Oculus interfaces led to a minor backlash among users, especially those that were depending on a more customizable fit to accommodate their glasses, face shape, etc. A Reddit thread from eight months ago highlights the community outrage and also features VR Cover themselves in the comments promising to provide a solution themselves.
VR Cover originally set out to raise €12,000 from its Kickstarter but ended up pulling in €31,838 between July 6 and August 5 this year.
