VR

[bloomen]

Lots of reviews for the Quest 2 coming out in the last hour or two.

This one is the least impressed - https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/review-we-d...

Looks like the IPD is going to be too small for me.

There won't be another Rift so I guess this is their only game in town going forward for now.

[lost in espace]

The Guardian review https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/sep/17...

I have decided to get one, dipping my first toe into VR. 64gb or 256gb? Does this make a real difference?

Edit https://www.androidcentral.com/oculus-quest-2-64gb... 64gb enough for most it seems.

Edited by lost in espace on Thursday 17th September 10:04

[Bullett]

I'd expect 64GB should be enough.

Interesting contrast between the Ars and Guardian reviews. For a new users I suspect the Guardian will be closer to your experience. The Ars guy reads like ha has a real bee in his bonnet about FB/Oculus. Although he probably also has some valid points on the technical aspects of the solution.

[kingston12]

bloomen said:

Lots of reviews for the Quest 2 coming out in the last hour or two.

This one is the least impressed - https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/review-we-d...

Looks like the IPD is going to be too small for me.

There won't be another Rift so I guess this is their only game in town going forward for now.

The linked article there seems to confirm that any new Oculus device will require a Facebook account even if you already have an Oculus account.

So I can continue using my Quest 1 on my Oculus account until 2023, but if I get a Quest 2, I'll need to use Facebook straight away.

[kingston12]

lost in espace said:

The Guardian review https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/sep/17...

I have decided to get one, dipping my first toe into VR. 64gb or 256gb? Does this make a real difference?

Edit https://www.androidcentral.com/oculus-quest-2-64gb... 64gb enough for most it seems.

Edited by lost in espace on Thursday 17th September 10:04

64GB has been fine for me on Quest 1, but I wouldn't say I'm a real 'power user'. I've got plenty of games on there though, so I think you'd have to be buying new games every week to really make use of the 256GB. I'm not sure if resale value is better on the larger memory models though.

At least £100 buys an upgrade from 64GB to 256GB this time, rather than 64GB to 128GB as it did on Quest 1. It would have been nice if they could have bumped the base model up to 128GB, but I suppose that would destroy sales of the 256GB one.

I'll go for 64GB again this time, I think.

Edited by kingston12 on Thursday 17th September 10:40

[bloomen]

I got the larger original because I was planning on watching plenty of 3D video with it. If I wasn't then I would've gone with the smaller one. In the end the screen door effect was too bad for videos to be properly enjoyable.

[geeks]

bloomen said:

I got the larger original because I was planning on watching plenty of 3D video with it. If I wasn't then I would've gone with the smaller one. In the end the screen door effect was too bad for videos to be properly enjoyable.

"videos"

[bloomen]

This was wholesome family entertainment. Yes, sir.

I don't like porn very much. I dislike pisspoor video displays even more intensely.

I loved the idea of a cinema you could stick on your head. The software is definitely up to it. The screen definitely was not.

[bass2rez]

I have an Oculus Rift S. Is there any point in buying the Quest 2? Is the increase in screen resolution the only benefit?

Does anyone know if the Quest 2 connected to a PC via the link cable will play PC games (Half-Life Alyx, Lone Echo, etc.) in the higher resolution without needing a game update?

Cheers,
Steve

[Speckle]

bloomen said:

This was wholesome family entertainment. Yes, sir.

I don't like porn very much. I dislike pisspoor video displays even more intensely.

I loved the idea of a cinema you could stick on your head. The software is definitely up to it. The screen definitely was not.

I've watched a few movies in a virtual cinema using my Vive (the original ,not a pro or cosmos or anything flash) - The sense of scale and screen size is amazing, there are even little avatars sitting in the same auditorium for added immersion (using BigScreen). A great novelty but, the resolution just isn't there yet and the Vive is a bit too heavy to remain comfortable after 2 hours of viewing. I suspect that newer headsets like the Valve Index improve matters but, it'll probably be the next generation of headsets that make VR a viable movie watching alternative to TVs and projectors.

[andrewrob]

bass2rez said:

I have an Oculus Rift S. Is there any point in buying the Quest 2? Is the increase in screen resolution the only benefit?

Does anyone know if the Quest 2 connected to a PC via the link cable will play PC games (Half-Life Alyx, Lone Echo, etc.) in the higher resolution without needing a game update?

Cheers,
Steve

The Quest 2 can connect to a PC but you'd be dropping down to 70Hz until the quest link gets updated at some point to enable 90Hz so probably not worth it at the moment.

[bloomen]

Speckle said:

I've watched a few movies in a virtual cinema using my Vive (the original ,not a pro or cosmos or anything flash) - The sense of scale and screen size is amazing, there are even little avatars sitting in the same auditorium for added immersion (using BigScreen).

I found it really frustrating as the presentation is impeccable, it's the screen that lets you down. I looked into dedicated video headsets like the Royole Moon but that was like watching a mobile at the bottom of a dustbin in comparison.

[LotusJas]

Oculus could have had a home run with Quest 2, but they couldn't resist cheaping out.

Cheap & nasty strap, no proper IPD adjustment, perhaps worse controller tracking.

They will sell well, but I'm not tempted to swap my Quest 1 for it as a result. (Strap can be fixed though, but IPD can't.)

[paolow]

Just giving this a bump as we've only a week to go.

The general consensus amongst reviewers seems to be that they rate it - but I am either living in a hole, or I havent seen much (any) advertising for this. Surely FB would have a few ads on thier own platform?

Either way I took the plunge and have also bought a longer (and apparently compatible) link cable. I am keen to try Alyx on this - then found that with a little work (and £20 to install virtual desktop) it is apparently possible to stream to this over wifi if the rest of your hardware is up to it. Thankfully mine is - which (in theory) means my Steam library can work with this wirelessly. Lots of caveats in that - but I will certainly be giving it a try...

I am not massively fussed about the FB connection so that wasnt a deal breaker for me.

I did then get a bit carried away and buy myself a new desk and carpet for my new 'VR studio' - but in for a penny?

[kingston12]

paolow said:

Just giving this a bump as we've only a week to go.

The general consensus amongst reviewers seems to be that they rate it - but I am either living in a hole, or I havent seen much (any) advertising for this. Surely FB would have a few ads on thier own platform?

I’m surprised by that as well. None of the promotion and stock limiting that are normally used with new gaming hardware launches.

[Bullett]

I've seen a few adverts on FB but then I'm a member of several FB VR groups so targeted because I have an interest in those areas.

[kingston12]

Bullett said:

I've seen a few adverts on FB but then I'm a member of several FB VR groups so targeted because I have an interest in those areas.

It will be interesting to see what the numbers look like. It's still freely available to pre-order so either demand is low or they are not throttling launch stock like Sony and Microsoft do.

It should be a good opportunity for them given that Quest 1 was out of stock for what seems like most of its shelf life.

[lothianJim]

I'm way too old to not get bored of this within an hour, but at 300 has to worth a punt.

I justified the expense to No 1, by framing it as a fitness device. There are fitness games right? Otherwise I have some explaining to do.

[kingston12]

lothianJim said:

I'm way too old to not get bored of this within an hour, but at 300 has to worth a punt.

I justified the expense to No 1, by framing it as a fitness device. There are fitness games right? Otherwise I have some explaining to do.

Bear Sabre gives quite a good workout on the higher levels and there are a couple of boxing games that should qualify.

[geeks]

kingston12 said:

lothianJim said:

I'm way too old to not get bored of this within an hour, but at 300 has to worth a punt.

I justified the expense to No 1, by framing it as a fitness device. There are fitness games right? Otherwise I have some explaining to do.

Bear Sabre gives quite a good workout on the higher levels and there are a couple of boxing games that should qualify.

BoxVR is purely a fitness app and I can testify to it's ability in that regard, I used it, Beat Saber, Space Pirate Trainer and an Exercise bike to lose 15kg last year in around 4 months. Superhot is good for stretching as well. The main thing about most VR games (other than those you remain seated for such as Elite or Project Cars) is they get you active and moving, I never really understood why this aspect wasn't advertised more to be honest. There are some specialist sites for VR Fitness too https://www.vrfitnessinsider.com/ is one I follow.