joustmaster
offcumdun
I'd like to do one of those multiplayer real room things. They look cool
VR headset Oculus Rift
- Thread starter grit
- Start date
elbows
Well-Known Member
Well I'm very pleased with the Rift S so far. On paper, over the last 3 years the spec improvements to VR devices have not been at all impressive. But in practice, it seems that small improvements can make a big difference with VR.
I really hated the comfort levels of the Vive, and the screen door effect. Wasnt a huge fan of the controllers either, and the original lighthouses which made high pitched noises that got to me. But I didnt really fancy investing in the incremental improvements they did (replacement head strap, then stupidly priced vive pro etc). If my development efforts go well this time then I will probably gradually upgrade the Vive setup to the Steam Index instead (controllers first, then headset, then new lighthouses maybe). But for now the Rift S has made improvements to all these fronts that are great for me, I was already able to use the headset for longer in my first session with it than I've ever used the Vive for in one go. The very much diminished screen door effect really helps, and I'm not bothered by the 80fps refresh rate or the LCD rather than OLED screen. Having far fewer plugs etc helps too, a much less clunky setup process.
My journey in PC VR might have been very different if Oculus had actually had their controllers ready when the first Rift launched. But they didnt, and I was impatient and needed proper VR controllers, hence my Vive route.
Just so long as my feeble mind can come up with a couple of ideas, and there are no reports of the Quest having serious flaws, its probably just a matter of time till I get one to try that untethered approach too. This class of device was previously useless to me due to lack of positional tracking of headset and controllers (rotation and gyros alone are not enough), but it looks very much like Oculus have done enough to get this sort of thing to where it needs to be, even if they have skimped on the fps (which doesnt sound like as much of an issue as people thought it would be back in the day when 90fps was considered the baseline).
I really hated the comfort levels of the Vive, and the screen door effect. Wasnt a huge fan of the controllers either, and the original lighthouses which made high pitched noises that got to me. But I didnt really fancy investing in the incremental improvements they did (replacement head strap, then stupidly priced vive pro etc). If my development efforts go well this time then I will probably gradually upgrade the Vive setup to the Steam Index instead (controllers first, then headset, then new lighthouses maybe). But for now the Rift S has made improvements to all these fronts that are great for me, I was already able to use the headset for longer in my first session with it than I've ever used the Vive for in one go. The very much diminished screen door effect really helps, and I'm not bothered by the 80fps refresh rate or the LCD rather than OLED screen. Having far fewer plugs etc helps too, a much less clunky setup process.
My journey in PC VR might have been very different if Oculus had actually had their controllers ready when the first Rift launched. But they didnt, and I was impatient and needed proper VR controllers, hence my Vive route.
Just so long as my feeble mind can come up with a couple of ideas, and there are no reports of the Quest having serious flaws, its probably just a matter of time till I get one to try that untethered approach too. This class of device was previously useless to me due to lack of positional tracking of headset and controllers (rotation and gyros alone are not enough), but it looks very much like Oculus have done enough to get this sort of thing to where it needs to be, even if they have skimped on the fps (which doesnt sound like as much of an issue as people thought it would be back in the day when 90fps was considered the baseline).
grit
an ugly force for good
I bought an Oculus Go just as a first introduction to VR, it was an interesting experience but its been collecting dust for the past few months. I know its difficult to quantify, but do you think the full positional tracking and controllers is enough on the quest to reignite a jaded Go owner?
elbows
Well-Known Member
Depends why you became jaded in the first place. Its probably a big subject and long periods have passed in the last 3 years where I stopped paying attention completely so who knows what I missed.
The quality and depth of games/experiences/apps may be a factor. Even ones that are done well and have a charm or fun gameplay mechanism to them, are still limited in ways that reminds me of all the doomed gimmick controllers etc I grew up with. The Wii was a rare later example of breaking beyond the most basic gimmick limitations/their lack of popularity, but even it didnt necessarily have great legs beyond the initial fun factor.
Proper tracking really helps, but hopefully your experience with the Go, combined with watching reviews of all the Quest content available, will give you a strong sense of whether things have progressed enough for it to get beyond dust-gathering this iteration around.
I say all this as someone who has yet to discover how much difference the much changed comfort levels with latest VR kit makes to my use of VR. I should find out quite quickly since when messing around with development stuff the hours soon fly by. I wont put big money on it, many of my interests for the long term are more about AR these days but lack of ripe hardware on that front keeps me with VR for now.
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
I've finally caved and bought a Quest. Early birthday pressie to myself. Come on.
elbows
Well-Known Member
I got overly excited about the development potential of the Quest, and overly concerned about remaining stock disappearing before my eyes, so I grabbed a 128gb one from Argos today.
Its not as comfortable as the Rift S, and the screen door effect is slightly more visible, but as expected its quite liberating to be without wires. I havent actually played any games or apps yet, just went through the setup routine and intro tutorial, had a little dance with a robot and have now stopped for a sandwich. The sandwich is very realistic, oh wait.
Anyway, I've always been attracted to developing for a platform that lacks variation in available spec, add-ons etc. I would like to have developed for consoles but didnt fancy the corporate approval thing before I could develop on those platforms. Granted if I actually want to get an app published on the Oculus Quest stopre I still need approval, but in the meantime I can sideload stuff and get on with development. Hopefully the Quest is a big hit and sticks around in its current form for quite some time.
Its not as comfortable as the Rift S, and the screen door effect is slightly more visible, but as expected its quite liberating to be without wires. I havent actually played any games or apps yet, just went through the setup routine and intro tutorial, had a little dance with a robot and have now stopped for a sandwich. The sandwich is very realistic, oh wait.
Anyway, I've always been attracted to developing for a platform that lacks variation in available spec, add-ons etc. I would like to have developed for consoles but didnt fancy the corporate approval thing before I could develop on those platforms. Granted if I actually want to get an app published on the Oculus Quest stopre I still need approval, but in the meantime I can sideload stuff and get on with development. Hopefully the Quest is a big hit and sticks around in its current form for quite some time.
elbows
Well-Known Member
Setup tip: They probably should have made a bigger deal about the need to massively adjust the top strap so that the back of the strap gets right down around the base of your head. Its mentioned in the tips section of the mobile phone setup app but that part of the app is easily skippable.
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
Mine should be delivering from Amazon on Thursday. Looking forward to loosing myself in a few new worlds.
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
Right, I've now had a change of heart after watching more videos on youtube and realising perhaps the Go is the better option.
For me the primary function will be watching content, not gaming. So the 6 degrees of freedom, though cool, will be more than I need. Also a lot of the pre-loaded games looked a bit lame and not my thing anyway. I'm not even a massive gamer. Most importantly though, I discovered the quest does not work in the dark which is a limitation that will definitely vex me as I want to use it in bed, or on an airplane during an overnight flight. So it looks like spending less money on the Go is wiser choice after all.
For me the primary function will be watching content, not gaming. So the 6 degrees of freedom, though cool, will be more than I need. Also a lot of the pre-loaded games looked a bit lame and not my thing anyway. I'm not even a massive gamer. Most importantly though, I discovered the quest does not work in the dark which is a limitation that will definitely vex me as I want to use it in bed, or on an airplane during an overnight flight. So it looks like spending less money on the Go is wiser choice after all.
ruffneck23
front left
ruffneck23
front left
and ? because I cant see any on here ?
ruffneck23
front left
*yawn*
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
anyway....
Got my Go last night. I'm glad I didn't get the Quest in the end. I've more than enough to keep me entertained, plus the swordy/saber fighting games aren't my bag. Watched part of the Europa league final on a massive virtual cinema, then went onto Bigscreen and ended up chatting in a virtual living room room with these two British guys about politics and tech. Before I knew it, it was 1am. Wild.
Got my Go last night. I'm glad I didn't get the Quest in the end. I've more than enough to keep me entertained, plus the swordy/saber fighting games aren't my bag. Watched part of the Europa league final on a massive virtual cinema, then went onto Bigscreen and ended up chatting in a virtual living room room with these two British guys about politics and tech. Before I knew it, it was 1am. Wild.
ruffneck23
front left
sounds good , il look into the go , not risking the quest after the motion sickness I felt from ps vr
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
I got mine on eBay - practically new. Seems to have some good deals going. Probably more over the coming days with people offloading their Go's for Quests now.
elbows
Well-Known Member
Yeah the Quest would be overkill if only for watching videos. And yeah, not working in darkness is a factor that I bet will catch some people out in certain scenarios, so well done for spotting that one before you purchased. Works surprisingly well in fairly dingy lighting conditions though, at least for me so far.
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
I like the potential of social apps. I've only really tried Altspace and Bigscreen so far.
AltSpace is interesting but it massively overheats my Go and full of American kids who think calling each other 'gay' is hilarious. I think I'm done with that one.
Bigscreen VR seems more stable and I like that you can create private living rooms. Maybe I'll set up an urban75 VR room one evening if anyone's interested?
AltSpace is interesting but it massively overheats my Go and full of American kids who think calling each other 'gay' is hilarious. I think I'm done with that one.
Bigscreen VR seems more stable and I like that you can create private living rooms. Maybe I'll set up an urban75 VR room one evening if anyone's interested?
cybershot
Well-Known Member
I've no idea if this is a good price or good version of the kit, but posting just in case:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oculus-Quest-All-Gaming-Headset/dp/B07QPKZKL5
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oculus-Quest-All-Gaming-Headset/dp/B07QPKZKL5
