DDD has released a new beta version of their TriDef Ignition software with experimental Oculus Rift support for several DirectX 9 games (DirectX 10 and 11 are not yet supported). This is great news for everyone with an Oculus Rift Dev Kit that not only uses it for development, but also for fun and wants to try more games with the Rift. The games that support the experimental Rift mode in the Ignition beta are: BioShock 2, Crysis, Fallout 3, Half-Life 2, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Borderlands 2 and Metro: Last Light though other DX9 games might work as well. The new beta of the software brings some extra HMD Settings that are available for the Rift and it also includes head tracking support that of course maps to the mouse cursor. You need to do a full TriDef 3D install (if you don’t yet have it installed) and on top of that to install the beta of Ignition.

Up until now the only software that allowed people to try games that are not specifically designed for the Rift with the HMD device was the Vireio Perception, a free and open-source 3D driver, even though there are other similar projects. An example for such a project is the vorpX software that seems promising (commercial), however lately its developer has been silent and there hasn’t been any information on the current and future status of the project.

If you want to be updated on the currently available and upcoming games and applications with support for the Oculus Rift 3D-capable Head Mounted Display you might want to keep an eye on RiftEnabled and The Rift List. Meanwhile it seems that by the end of this year we may see a second Dev Kit of the Rift announced/released (not clear if it will be with Full HD display though), however the consumer version of the device will most likely not arrive before sometime in 2014.

– To download and try the TriDef 3D Ignition with Experimental Oculus Rift support…