VR - Is it really going to be a success? Or, thanks Time for starting a discussion!

Games
2716

I just can’t stand the Oculus driver tied to their store on PC. It is the worst kind of Facebook intrusive you an get. A total insult.

I do love Oculus ergonomics though. I’m looking closely at the new HP headset as they have basically copied those ergonomics (for the headset at least).

2717

How is that different than you can’t play a Steam VR game (like Subnautica bought from EGS) without steam loaded?

edit: Nm I guess one is game tied while the other is hardware tied. Can you use the Vive without steam running though?

2718

For what it’s worth, this part is the biggest running joke on some of the Oculus reddits, to the point that people will post pics where there is one inevitably plugged in and with the comment, “voiding my warranty,” or something similar. It’s USB power. It is 100% fine to charge while in use, otherwise we’d have exploded phones and devices all over the place that people used while charging. Oculus is just trying to avoid lawsuits of any reason, like tripping on the cord to anything unforeseen they didn’t specifically mention.

And yet, in the very same breath, Oculus actively pushes using the devices for media like movies, TV, etc, which frequently go beyond the limit of a charge.

At least with the Go, I use mine while it’s charging, ALL THE TIME. I picked up a super long 10-ft charge cable on Amazon and haven’t looked back.

2719

But you could. I mean, VR and all that, right?

2720

Only if I’m cool with tripping on my charging cable and subsequently suing oculus. Win-win, right?

2721

Badabum tssssh

2722

This game sounds interesting, it uses non euclidean geometry so you’re able to just keep walking in your play space to navigate the world. Haven’t tried it yet but am about to.

2723

THE God Emperor. THE God Emperor. THE God Emperor.

I feel so much better now.

2724

Nice Ars review up comparing the Rift S with the HP Reverb. The HP Reverb especially is interesting as has a major jump in resolution compared to everything else.

2725

Inside out tracking seems to work well for large outdoor spaces apparently.

2726

Ha. V good :)

2727

Got my Quest in the mail from Amazon. It sets up very easily. It’s a bit heavy, but not uncomfortably so. Setting up the Guardian area and running through the tutorial was totally seamless. I was swinging sabers to Beat Saber beats within 30 minutes of opening the box. Apps are a bit pricey and there’s no The Climb yet (which was one of the reasons I bought this thing.) But overall, this is a major step up from my Google Daydream. The graphics are a bit cleaner and sharper; the visual field is wider, but most importantly the tracking is impeccable and the controllers are amazing. I was tossing blocks into the air and then catching them. For a cordless VR system, it’s pretty aces.

2728

Sounds awesome! I currently have a Rift S in transit, looking forward to the slight upgrade. :)

2729

You already have the Rfit right? Please post your thoughts on how they compare…

2730

Will do!

It’s still a week away according to the tracker - which seems way slower than the original’s transit time. Budget cuts!

2731

The Quest is fing amazing. By my count this is my 8th VR headset and the first one real people not super geeks like me are going to flock to. I love it so far!

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2732

I got the Rift S today. Despite the lukewarm reviews and the minor upgrades in specs, Matt Wagner’s commentary on its clarity in DCS made me order it from Amazon (where I could return it easily if not impressed).

I’m not returning it. Spent the evening flying flight sims in it and it’s clearly a worthwhile upgrade for sim fans. You would think it had much higher resolution than the CV1, given the additional clarify. Screen door is just gone. (At least, for my eyes.)

  • Prepar3D v4.51 probably sees the most dramatic improvement, with instruments just dramatically easier to read. Everything looks sharper as well.
  • Matt Wagner wasn’t kidding about DCS. The view from the F-86 Sabre cockpit was just amazingly sharp.
  • IL-2 Battle of Moscow/Bodenplatte/etc is by far the best looking of them all. With no screen door effect and the efficient VR engine, the visuals are just stunning. Flew the P-47D around and was blown away.
  • Also tried FlyInside Flight Simulator, and while that one’s in very early access, it worked and looked great.

I haven’t tried X-Plane 11 yet, but I have no doubt it’ll be awesome given all the other sims.

Quick game of Beat Sabre showed the controller tracking to be as good in that game as with the three sensors around the room – never lost tracking.

Random notes:

  • 80Hz vs 90Hz isn’t noticeable
  • The internal tracking on the controllers works well
  • I was thinking I’d need to use headphones since they dropped the earphones and added tiny speakers near your ear. But the audio is surprisingly clear from these, and it’s nice to be able to hear sounds in the room if someone comes in. This was maybe the biggest pleasant surprise. I wouldn’t use them for music (no bass) or watching movies, but it’s fine for flight sims.
  • Soooo much easier to set up without all the tracking stations
  • You now define the room by laser-drawing the border with the controllers instead of having to walk around in view of cameras, much easier
  • Even with three cameras, the original Rift would sometimes lose track of tracking and I’d find my head sticking out the top of a cockpit, down by the rudder pedals, or on a wing, and have to re-set the VR view. Didn’t happen once with the Rift S.
  • Unlike some reviewers, I actually like the new headband better than the original Rift’s.
  • My one negative so far? There isn’t the big gap around your nose that I used to peek down through to view the keyboard when playing sims. I’ve had to lift the headset a few times to find a key.

If you’re playing action-based VR games, games with cartoony graphics, or really anything outside of vehicle simulations, I’m not sure the improvements in the Rift S would justify an upgrade from the original Oculus Rift CV1. But for flight sims, the Rift S awesome and I have zero regrets on the money spent.

I had an HP Reverb on order as well, thinking the increased resolution would be a big benefit in sims. But I just cancelled that order, because the Rift S is so sharp I’m quite satisfied, and the Oculus solution is going to have much better frame rates than the Reverb’s higher resolution will afford.

I don’t know what the cancelled “Rift 2” was going to be, but the S might as well stand for “Sim edition” and it’s a nice upgrade for my usage scenario.

2733

Great news! This is pretty much why I upgraded mine - fewer usb ports, more freedom, more clarity in sims, similar performance hit. And relatively cheap.

Kinda annoying though that I pre-ordered from Oculus and it’s now sitting with Fedex for a week. I could have ordered it from Amazon Au and (maybe) had it Friday. Ah well! :)

Reported!

2734

What? They knocked me out!

2735

:D

How do you find the contrast compared to the CV1? I read it was more washed out, less blacks? And for me the Rift is already a little grey.