Oculus rolled out version 1.12 of the Oculus software. The new build addresses tracking issues that version 1.11 introduced, improves the user experience, and adds an audio mirroring option.
Oculus launched the Touch controllers in early December to mixed customer reactions. In my review of Oculus’s motion controllers, I noted that the tracking may have actually been a little too robust for my taste. In my experience, the sensors picked up every nuanced movement of my hands, and I noticed the controllers lose tracking only when they were out of view of both cameras.
My experience with Touch is positive, but my experience is not universal, though. Shortly after the launch of the Touch controllers, reports of poor tracking started popping up in the Oculus support forums and the Oculus subrReddit.
Oculus said it would address the tracking problem in January, but the company pushed the release into February for quality control purposes. The company delayed the driver release, but it didn’t push back the plans for the February driver. Oculus committed to two drivers in the shortest month of the year.
The January update addresses the tracking issues, but it caused other problems. Some Touch owners that didn’t have any trouble before started reporting issues to Oculus. Oculus Version 1.12 should address those new problems.
The latest version of Oculus Software also adds improved support for Unreal Engine and Unity, and it introduces a couple of new features. You can now flag spam reviews that you find in the Oculus Store to help Oculus keep the store clean.
I’m especially fond of the other two additions to the Oculus platform: When you install some games through the Oculus Store, you must click the game’s icon to finalize the installation--which you can't do from inside the headset. Mercifully, Oculus version 1.12 allows you to complete the install from within the VR environment. Just be sure to launch Oculus Home with administrator privileges.
The final addition to the Oculus platform is a feature that Valve offered on day one. You can now mirror the audio signal that goes to the headset so that spectators can hear what’s going on. This feature is invaluable when you want to share your Rift experiences with a group of people.
The Oculus 1.12 client update is now live. If your install isn’t already up to date, you should receive it soon. For the complete list of changes, see the release notes on the Oculus forums.
