VR

[Bullett]

By its very nature the size and sophistication of games on a standalone headset will be limited. More sophisticated stuff is available but even then it is still relatively early days for VR gaming and there are still a few issues (like realistic locomotion options). Something like Alyx is a proper game and the gold standard right now but still relatively lightweight. That does require a PC tethered HMD to work.

I think SIM's are still the sweet spot, flying a plane, spaceship or driving a car with you in the seats is awesome.

[Chris Type R]

brums evil twin said:

Hi guys,

I have scanned the thread and I am trying to gather information on VR. My son wants it (Christmas) and I am trying to see if it is viable and value for money!!!

He has his xBox one and laptop with steam (loves Garys mod) etc

He has said about this Oculus Quest and it seems there are 64gb and 256gb for £299 and £399. But the questions is, will he get the use out of it. OR is there something better?? I am not on point with the gaming scene and technology.

All advice is very welcome
thanks

I'd budget to get an elite strap with the Quest 2 - if you can lay your hands on one.

[brums evil twin]

Thanks for the replies - I think then it will be a 64gb for him and then some money for some games.

Anything else I need to know???

Cheers

[Lucas Ayde]

brums evil twin said:

Hi guys,

I have scanned the thread and I am trying to gather information on VR. My son wants it (Christmas) and I am trying to see if it is viable and value for money!!!

He has his xBox one and laptop with steam (loves Garys mod) etc

He has said about this Oculus Quest and it seems there are 64gb and 256gb for £299 and £399. But the questions is, will he get the use out of it. OR is there something better?? I am not on point with the gaming scene and technology.

All advice is very welcome
thanks

The pluses of using the Quest as a standalone all-in-one VR system far outweigh the negatives in my opinion. It's so great not to be tethered and to just be able to pick it up and play within a minute as opposed to the faffing around of a PSVR which I also have, I'd imagine a PS would be just as much hassle. Against it is relatively short battery life (2 hours, though you can hook up an external battery pack) and less graphical fidelity than a powerful PC.

However, you can still use it with a PC as a headset via a USB cable or even Wireless so you have the best of both worlds IMO. I don't have access to my main PC at the moment so can't make use of this yet but it was a major reason I went for the Quest 2.

[Stevil]

My Reverb G2 arrived yesterday, bit of a faff getting it all setup but once done I managed a couple of hours in Star Wars Squadrons with it, damn! Things have moved on so much since I had my Vive and it looks absolutely incredible with all the settings cranked up. Really want to try out HL: Alyx but I should have taken the plunge last week whilst it was on sale. Will have to wait for Christmas.

[Littleern]

HP have Reverb G2 available now. Says 48 hour window to order (until stocks last) with delivery before the end of this week.

[anonymous-user]

[redacted]

[8bit]

Littleern said:

HP have Reverb G2 available now. Says 48 hour window to order (until stocks last) with delivery before the end of this week.

Where are you seeing that? I preordered mine through SystemActive, emailed for an update yesterday and they said I'd have mine by the 10th. I ordered mine a few weeks ago, I'll be a bit miffed if folk are ordering now and getting theirs before me!

[Littleern]

8bit said:

Littleern said:

HP have Reverb G2 available now. Says 48 hour window to order (until stocks last) with delivery before the end of this week.

Where are you seeing that? I preordered mine through SystemActive, emailed for an update yesterday and they said I'd have mine by the 10th. I ordered mine a few weeks ago, I'll be a bit miffed if folk are ordering now and getting theirs before me!

I got an email from HP this morning and clicked on the link and ordered direct from them. Got an email this afternoon confirming it will be delivered tomorrow.

I had a pre-order with SystemActive but cancelled a few weeks ago as it was starting to look like it may not arrive for a while. Given that HP are now getting sets in I assume you should get your pretty soon from SystemActive,.

[bloomen]

I grabbed this too. I sure as st hope it fits on my vast head.

The only things that have are a Quest 1 and PSVR. Everything else had to be sent straight back. The Odyssey Plus wouldn't even get over the top of my head.

[BrewsterBear]

bloomen said:

I grabbed this too. I sure as st hope it fits on my vast head.

The only things that have are a Quest 1 and PSVR. Everything else had to be sent straight back. The Odyssey Plus wouldn't even get over the top of my head.

It sounds like you're a sniper's dream.

[Foliage]

brums evil twin said:

Thanks for the replies - I think then it will be a 64gb for him and then some money for some games.

Anything else I need to know???

Cheers

The oculus quest is amazing, its basically a android phone with a 4k screen strapped to your face. its a stand alone console, that can be also used wirelessly with PCVR (SteamVR and Oculus's PC APP)

The extremely clever part is the controllers and their tracking. That's where the full immersion comes in.


The downsides,

That story driven games are short. (Starwars edge etc)
Playing with friends doesn't work quite as well as it should.
The battery doesn't last long (2 hours ish)
You need to spend more money on accessories, a new headstrap, a carry case, a battery pack, cables.
Setup for the value added features takes time and is daunting, setting up sidequest (a second games store, but endorsed by oculus), virtual desktop, steamvr etc all needs extra steps, connection to a PC and can be frustrating.

[bloomen]

BrewsterBear said:

It sounds like you're a sniper's dream.

Maybe there's so much empty space in there a bullet will whistle straight through without touching anything. Here's hoping.

The G2 is here. I will give it a test try in a bit.

[bloomen]

LimJim said:

Anyone else find they are not playing pcvr as much since quest2? The low friction of booting up and playing without faff or wires is a great motivator. As is the calorie count feature.

I'm moving back towards it. Quest stuff is great but where I found myself wanting an upgrade the most was sim type stuff.

The G2 goes over my head. I'm impressed. It feels light and very comfortable but the build quality does not feel reassuring. The lenses look awful close together to me even at the furthest IPD so that might be the deal breaker. Guess I'd better find a computer.

[8bit]

Littleern said:

8bit said:

Littleern said:

HP have Reverb G2 available now. Says 48 hour window to order (until stocks last) with delivery before the end of this week.

Where are you seeing that? I preordered mine through SystemActive, emailed for an update yesterday and they said I'd have mine by the 10th. I ordered mine a few weeks ago, I'll be a bit miffed if folk are ordering now and getting theirs before me!

I got an email from HP this morning and clicked on the link and ordered direct from them. Got an email this afternoon confirming it will be delivered tomorrow.

I had a pre-order with SystemActive but cancelled a few weeks ago as it was starting to look like it may not arrive for a while. Given that HP are now getting sets in I assume you should get your pretty soon from SystemActive,.

Ah I see, I thought SystemActive were doing all the sales for HP, I thought they did all the non-business distribution for HP now. Oh well, not too long to wait.

[Foliage]

LimJim said:

Anyone else find they are not playing pcvr as much since quest2? The low friction of booting up and playing without faff or wires is a great motivator. As is the calorie count feature.

erm, no coz you just boot remote desktop, start steamVR and play PCVR games

[bloomen]

Just had a fiddle with the G2 for an hour or so.

Screen door effect is just about detectable but effectively gone. I badly wanted rid of it for video watching but in games the lack of it moves me less than I was expecting.

FOV isn't great but the IPD is maxed out. You really have to move your head rather than eyes to focus on details anywhere. Focus falls off extremely quickly but it's true about your gauges and stuff. You can read everything.

I found it pretty tiring on the eyes but can't tell why. It could be not enough IPD, or frames.

Overall I'm not as moved as I was expecting. I'll give it a bit more time but may send it back and wait another generation. My poxy old Quest 1 still gets the job done.

[8bit]

bloomen said:

Just had a fiddle with the G2 for an hour or so.

Screen door effect is just about detectable but effectively gone. I badly wanted rid of it for video watching but in games the lack of it moves me less than I was expecting.

FOV isn't great but the IPD is maxed out. You really have to move your head rather than eyes to focus on details anywhere. Focus falls off extremely quickly but it's true about your gauges and stuff. You can read everything.

I found it pretty tiring on the eyes but can't tell why. It could be not enough IPD, or frames.

Overall I'm not as moved as I was expecting. I'll give it a bit more time but may send it back and wait another generation. My poxy old Quest 1 still gets the job done.

Interesting input, thanks. I'm coming from a Rift DK2 so hopefully it's a bigger leap on for me, I can't use that for DCS at all as the SDE and resolution are so bad it's impossible to read the gauges and displays.

[bloomen]

8bit said:

Interesting input, thanks. I'm coming from a Rift DK2 so hopefully it's a bigger leap on for me, I can't use that for DCS at all as the SDE and resolution are so bad it's impossible to read the gauges and displays.

It'll definitely transform things for something like that beyond recognition. I'm more of a generalist. It's odd as I'm normally a total resolution queen but seemingly not all that much in this case.

[8bit]

My Reverb G2 turned up yesterday, got it set up last night. The clarity (compared to the Rift DK2) is very impressive. FOV isn't great but I think I'll get used to it.

By the time I disconnected the old DK2 and got the Reverb set up and installed etc. it was pretty late but the main impression I got is that the Windows Mixed Reality app that seems to be required to do anything with the Reverb is just a pain in the arse. It seems to have to run whenever I start an app, keeps stealing focus etc. Mainly I tried DCS World and Virtual Desktop, both in Steam and they have to have Steam VR installed and running to work with the WMR headsets. Is there a way to get these things to play nicer together?