I will get my Oculus Quest today. We were able to test it beforehand. A friend rented it on Grover, which - thanks to a coupon - was basically free (he had to pay shipping). I was always of the opinion that the only viable VR experience is a proper PC headset. Only then would you have the power necessary for proper VR. But I have to say, the Quest is actually great. Being wireless is a huge difference. You can freely move in all directions without the constraints you would have with your regular tethered headset. The tracking is awesome and works without having to install and maybe calibrate base stations. It just works right out of the box. This is a device I can just put in a case and bring to a friend. And what about the lack of processing power? Sure, it's just a Snapdragon. No match for an expensive gaming PC. But what I've tried so far was great. Beat Saber looks good and plays fantasticly. The graphics may not be as good on PC, but they are good enough. Honestly, in VR everything looks better anyway. So yeah, it's a surprisingly good device.

What are your thoughts on the Quest? Do you like the idea of a truly mobile VR device? Do you maybe already have one or plan to buy one? I also would love some recommendations as far as games go.

If you have some good VR games to recommend, I would love to hear about it. Which ones impressed you the most?

By the way, I also have to try out streaming via WLAN from PC to Quest. It seems the Quest might even be suitable for PC games that way.


EDIT: Tried it on the weekend. Yes, the Quest is actually able to play SteamVR games with almost no lag. See me here playing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice VR on the Quest, streamed via ALVR:

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice VR

Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE

It's amazing how good ALVR works. I noticed in other games that the controller tracking is not as perfect as in native Quest games. But it's really not as bad as you might think. The games I played were all absolutely playable. And in games that are played with a regular controller, like Hellblade, it doesn't even matter.


Some cheap garbage games and one really good VR experience:

Level 0

Level 1

Level 5

Level 1

Level 4

Level 7

Good luck! :)

4 years ago*

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Good concept?

View Results
yes
no
don't know

I have not dabbled in VR yet due to my PC being too weak, but have a beump for visibility.

4 years ago
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Thanks a lot. But it seems the interest in VR is not that big on SG. :/

4 years ago
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It might not even be lack of interest. I was so hyped when the first VR headsets came out, but the entry bar was pretty high.
For a high quality VR experience you had to have a high end PC, spend a lot on the headset + accessories, have the sensors etc positioned around you (ideally in a dedicated room with at least 2m x 2m I think).
If you meet all the requirements you might have to deal with low(er) resolution/ppi, low refresh rate and lots of cables. Then you can only pick from a few select AAA VR titles or rather gimmicky motion exercises.

Now, 5-6 years later most of those complaints are still (more or less) valid.
The Quest checks some of the mentioned problems (i.e. ease of use), but from what I've heard it can't compete in terms of graphics quality.

Don't get me wrong - I like the VR experience and I want it to succeed. For me it is just not there yet.

As for games to recommend. I have not played it and would very much suck at it, but still would like to try Thumper. It looks mesmerizing. Perfect mix of motion and sound.

Thumper

4 years ago
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It might not even be lack of interest. I was so hyped when the first VR headsets came out, but the entry bar was pretty high.
For a high quality VR experience you had to have a high end PC, spend a lot on the headset + accessories, have the sensors etc positioned around you (ideally in a dedicated room with at least 2m x 2m I think). If you meet all the requirements you might have to deal with low(er) resolution/ppi, low refresh rate and lots of cables.

True. That's why I think the Quest is a step in the right direction. Not that expensive. No additional accessories required. Not even a PC required. And no cables. Still need the space, though. ;)

Then you can only pick from a few select AAA VR titles or rather gimmicky motion exercises. Now, 5-6 years later most of those complaints are still (more or less) valid.

You really think so? I have to disagree. I had a Oculus DK2 back when it all started. And yes, there was barely any software to test it with. And you would often have to fiddle with settings to get a game running. The fact that the DK2 registered as a normal second monitor made a lot of problems, for example. You had very few games, and most of those had only rudimentary VR support.

But today this has changed completely, if you ask me. Starting a VR game is easy, thanks to SteamVR. It just works. Even easier on the Quest, as you don't have to setup any hardware. And there are lots of games. I am not even talking about all the VR shovelware on Steam. I am talking about high quality VR games. I think it isn't fair to just count the VR adaptions of AAA games (like Skyrim, Doom or Fallout) and come to the conclusion that there is not a lot of good games available. There are so many games that offer actual good gameplay and many hours of fun in VR.

Beat Saber would be the obvious example. It's not just a gimmick. Beat Saber is a genuine rythm game, comparable to Guitar Hero. I can see myself spending countless hours just in Beat Saber alone. But there are so many more. Blade and Sorcery seems to be really good. The Serious Sam VR games are pretty good. People love The Invisible Hours, which I am giving away here. SUPERHOT VR is honestly the best VR experience I ever had. It's so much better than the desktop version. Just a few examples. What I want to say is that we have a big number of high quality VR games nowadays. Yes, there are lots of "VR experiences" that offer just a few minutes of something and are not a full game by any means. But we also have lots of full games. They don't all look like your typical AAA game, sure. But they don't have to. I bet you can have fun for months and months with the games we have now. 5 years ago we had maybe like 10 games. Now we have maybe 100 decent ones.

Sorry for the wall of text... ;)

The Quest checks some of the mentioned problems (i.e. ease of use), but from what I've heard it can't compete in terms of graphics quality.

Yes, definitely. If you compare games that are on both platforms - the Quest loses easily. But believe me, once you are in VR presence is more relevant than texture resolution. I played a little Hellblade, and it looked good. Then I saw the video I captured and was honestly surprised how had it looked. Didn't even realize that while playing. Same goes for the Quest. Yes, the graphics quality is lower than on PC. But for the games I played so far it didn't even matter. What matters more to me is the 72Hz refresh rate. It's sufficient, don't get me wrong. But I would prefer it to be higher.

As for games to recommend. I have not played it and would very much suck at it, but still would like to try Thumper. It looks mesmerizing. Perfect mix of motion and sound.

Absolutely, I love Thumper. Played it on a regular screen when it came out. Even played it on my phone. Great game. It's also great in VR (tried it yesterday). But to be honest, the game does not benefit as much from VR as other titles. It's fine on a monitor. At least that's my opinion.

4 years ago
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Hmmm.....
Have to admit I have exactly the same feelings towards VR as Calibr3, every singe video of it I've seen reminds me of those children's TV-shows where kids called in and controlled a character on the screen using the buttons on their phones; Cumbersome, slow, and really poor graphics. You know what I mean; I've seen the floating hands trying to reload weapons, items spinning around like crazy so you can't use them at all, the delay between input and screen movement... Just awful.

But like Calibr3 I'm really sad over this, I had so much hopes for VR this time around (I'm old enough to remember a few attempts back in the day. Oh my, what crap.. Same problems but worse and a lot bulkier sets with a million cables...).

But reading your answer to Calibr3 really made me snap into a knowledge I've had for years but have failed to apply to VR; Immersion and good game-play will always trump good graphics. Especially your comment I played a little Hellblade, and it looked good. Then I saw the video I captured and was honestly surprised how had it looked made the penny drop for me.
Because I have only ever seen VR on PC screen as captured video, and tried a few shitty videos on an early developer Oculus Rift, and neither got me excited well yeah maybe a little excited - as you know those early videos for the Oculus was either a rollercoaster or porn.... - but the wrong kind of excited for this discussion, quite the contrary. But with immersion and some fun game-play, graphics take a backseat, and no YouTube video in the world can convey that.

Hmm, I will have to look into this, thanks.

4 years ago*
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Have to admit I have exactly the same feelings towards VR as Calibr3, every singe video of it I've seen reminds me of those children's TV-shows where kids called in and controlled a character on the screen using the buttons on their phones; Cumbersome, slow, and really poor graphics. You know what I mean; I've seen the floating hands trying to reload weapons, items spinning around like crazy so you can't use them at all, the delay between input and screen movement... Just awful.

Most good games will not have those spinning items you are talking about. In fact I don't believe any of the games I played during the last 1-2 weeks had this problem. A big delay between input and action would obviously completely kill the immersion. And again, I didn't experience that. May I answer this with a video? Please have a look at this (upcoming) game. Yes, it's a physics-related experience, and you may or may not like that. But look at how accurate the controls are. This is something a traditional game just can't deliver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E30vb3bmMc

But like Calibr3 I'm really sad over this, I had so much hopes for VR this time around (I'm old enough to remember a few attempts back in the day. Oh my, what crap.. Same problems but worse and a lot bulkier sets with a million cables...).

I actually tried a VFX-1 (or whatever the name exactly was) in the 90s. The biggest advantage we have now is positional tracking with 6DoF. The old headsets didn't have that. The old ones were basically like Google Cardboard. And this tracking to me is the most important thing to get a feeling of true presence. Also from what I remember there was basically no software back in the day. Doom supported it, and that was about it. Barely any real game had VR support. Which is very different from today. If you buy a headset today, you have a wide variety of games to choose from. Not really the case with the VFX-1. ;)

But reading your answer to Calibr3 really made me snap into a knowledge I've had for years but have failed to apply to VR; Immersion and good game-play will always trump good graphics. Especially your comment I played a little Hellblade, and it looked good. Then I saw the video I captured and was honestly surprised how had it looked made the penny drop for me.

Believe me, I was so surprised. xD Hellblade in VR looked basically like high details (with the exception of the water). And in the video I could clearly see that it's more like low settings. I wonder if this changes with better headsets that have a clearer image. Now most headsets still have a noticable screendoor effect. Maybe with higher resolutions not only the screendoor effect will vanish, but also the low details will be more obvious.

4 years ago
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That video is really impressive!

4 years ago
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Thanks for your thorough answer. I wish I had more time to answer your wall of text ;), but it takes me forever to phrase something in English.

You really think so?

Well, I'm not so sure anymore after reading your answer. I came to realize I might be a bit out of the loop when it comes to the newest VR tech and games.

I think it isn't fair to just count the VR adaptions of AAA games (like Skyrim, Doom or Fallout) and come to the conclusion that there is not a lot of good games available. There are so many games that offer actual good gameplay and many hours of fun in VR.

Fair enough. I like to play games like Metro, Bioshock, Fallout, Skyrim or ARGPs (not suited for VR obviously) like Diablo and Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing so naturally that's what I tend to look at. I realize those are not the type of games VR excels at. Might have to do more research on recent games.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I have not played Superhot yet, but I have seen enough of it to know it has to be absolutely killer in VR.

Yes, there are lots of "VR experiences" that offer just a few minutes of something and are not a full game by any means.

That's probably what I mostly think of when it comes to VR. That and VR experiences of my favorite titles like Skyrim or Fallout. Wandering through these gigantic worlds sounds like a dream to me, but actually playing 8-hour sessions with a headset for 500+ hours in total and managing maxed out inventories (I'm a hoarder) with a controller not so much. I realize those games where originally not developed with VR in mind.

But we also have lots of full games. They don't all look like your typical AAA game, sure. But they don't have to.

I think I have to change my mindset of what VR games have to offer to be considered "good" by me.

Sorry for the wall of text... ;)

You're obviously passionate about it. That's a good thing. ;)

4 years ago
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I feel like all these "no" votes are coming from people who have never tried VR or can't afford it.
Anyway, Quest seems like an amazing piece of hardware. I'm tempted to buy it to complement my Rift CV1, but I think I'll save my money for true 2nd gen VR.

4 years ago
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Absolutely understandable. I also have a Pimax 5k+ (backed it on KS), and quality-wise the Quest is no match. The large FOV is quite amazing. My problem with it is that I don't have the necessary accessories yet. Pimax has not released their own yet. And buying compatible Vive hardware would cost me like 600€ (2 base stations, 2 controllers, each around 150€). I am just not willing to do that right now. Especially since the Vive controllers seem rather outdated at this point. I am not in a hurry anyway. The 5k+ can wait. Will still be a good headset in a few months, or even next year. The Quest is here now, and the obvious advantage over all other headsets is obviously the mobility. On Saturday I took it to a friend, and we could start playing right away, without any need for installing needed hard- or software. That was pretty great. Playing Superhot drunk was the best! xD

I even played some PC games with it via ALVR, which works surprisingly well. If you're interested, take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXIR00S6Y0s&feature=youtu.be

4 years ago*
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Yeah, I've seen several videos of people streaming PCVR on the Quest, even on the GO. Awesome stuff. It probably won't last though. Reading what Zuckerberg wants to do with Oculus in the long run (create a walled garden a la Apple), I'm sure they will somehow disable the streaming option in the future.

4 years ago
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They've already forced the dev of Virtual Desktop to remove the streaming functionality. But ALVR is not an official app. You have to sideload it in developer mode. So I guess (hope) this is an option we will have for the forseeable future. They could maybe make the rules for dev mode stricter. Like having to properly register as a company, with proof that you are an actual company. But I am not sure that would be in their best interest. They want people to develop software for the device. Not sure if it makes sense to make that harder for them.

4 years ago
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I absolutely LOVE my Quest. Ever since I got it, my Lenovo is collecting dust. So easy to put on and just play for half an hour.

To my big surprise I like to move now. That's very strange coming from the most lazy person on this planet. Now I like to play rhythm, racket and dance games. I really want to play and not moving because I should. That's a big bonus. I'm having a blast with these games.

The plan was to use my wireless Quest for the active games and my "better" Lenovo for the more relaxed games but with ALVR working as great as it does, I find myself only using the Quest for everything.

Only downside is that it looks awful by now as it required a lot of adjustments to make it comfortable. luckily you can't see a thing when you are in VR lol.

4 years ago
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Which adjustments did you make? You mean like the FrankenQuest mod or something like that? I am definitely interested in replacing or at least improving the head strap. So if you have some tips for me, that would help. :)

4 years ago
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No unfortunately not the Frankenstein mod that's a bit too expensive.
When I first started it felt not comfortable at all and I could only use it for about 15 minutes before my cheeks started to hurt and just uncomfortable overall. So I ordered the VR cover which had a ridiculously long delivery. So I tried to attach a powerbank on the back of my head. Better, but you do feel the battery in your neck. Now I have 2 bundles of 4 normal AA batteries on both sides on the back attached with a zip tie. Amazing how much more comfortable it is now. I even cancelled my vr covers as the headset barely touches my cheeks anymore. It looks not so nice but I do recommend it. This combined with the broad velco headband is a must. Now I can play it for hours.

I wear glasses and although the Quest accommodates glasses quite well after some time of moving and sweating they always starts to irritate somewhere. So you start fiddling around with them and your frame will not like that. So I treated myself to some prescription lenses. They are worth every penny I can tell you. Comfort, way bigger sweet spot, no more damaging my frame.

So now I finally have a great, comfortable headset I want to use, I just don't want to look at it lol.
https://imgur.com/a/gpJYeff

4 years ago
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That looks... interesting. ;) Hey, as long as it does the job I personally wouldn't care that much how it looks.

There is actually a "pro version" of what you did. I am sure you know about it:

https://www.studioformcreative.com/quest-pro-counter-weight-wrap

Looks better, but I find it quite expensive. Combined with the deluxe strap that's like 50$...

4 years ago
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I am completely crazy about my Quest and watch a lot of YouTube movies about it but I haven't seen this one. Not so sure it's more comfortable as it accommodates only 4 batteries and I think you will feel it in your neck just like the powerbank. And very expensive! This was free :) 8 empty batteries and 2 straps I already had lying around. Tbh this looks bad too so I will stick with the non pro version for sure. But always nice to see something new. By now you must have received yours. How do you like it?

4 years ago
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Sorry for the very late response. Had a lot of stress lately...

Yeah, I like it a lot. The untethered freedom is nice. The tracking works great. Definitely a good device. I even played through a complete game already (The Invisible Hours, via streaming). I just got my VR Cover today. Will test it tomorrow, as I will be home really late today.

4 years ago
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VRump!

4 years ago
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The cost barrier for entry is too high for me still, but even when it hits what would be mainstream pricing levels (to me) with severe motion sickness I'll probably never even be willing to risk trying it.

I'd love to play a space game with something like this, but I'm just not sure the risk will ever be worth it.

4 years ago
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I've had VR for about 2 years now and I can't say I've ever really experienced much in the way of motion sickness, and it's something I suffer from pretty badly IRL. I think it all depends on the games you play and how you play them. The only times I've got a bit of it was trying Subnautica and Minecraft, without the motion controls, so traditional WASD movement. That was a pretty quick trip to the chunder street station, other than that no issues at all.

Elite Dangerous is pretty amazing as far as space games go in VR.

4 years ago
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I have problems viewing a 3DS so I expect VR will be much worse. I'm fine being stuck with 2D though, there are more than enough games to last me a lifetime already that don't require VR to play.

Maybe one day they'll manage to figure out a way around the health side as well, you never know how tech will advance.

4 years ago
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Yeah, that's unfortunately a problem. When we had the Oculus DK2 some years ago, a friend of mine could never play more than 15 or 20 minutes before he got sick. He is the one who rent the Quest now, and at least with that one he didn't have any problems. But if you're that sensitive with motion sickness, then maybe VR isn't the best idea until the tech is completely where it needs to be. :)

4 years ago
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There are several things affecting motion sickness. For me the thing which most affects that (from my experience on the Oculus Go) is movement out of my control. If the camera is moving and I'm not in control of that, I get motion sick. It's enough that movement is a direct response to something I do (and I can stop moving) to reduce this significantly. In one case, Land's End, I ended up walking in place whenever the camera moved, and that helped.

You also get more used to it with time.

The Quest should be good for that. Tracking latency is low and it also has IPD (distance between eyes) adjustment, which helps comfort for people with non-standard IPD. For games which only use the player's movement, such as SUPERHOT, Beat Saber, Job Simulator, there shouldn't be any motion sickness.

4 years ago
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I would love to try VR but since I have glasses it just sucks. And I don't want to get contact lenses just for VR

4 years ago
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I don't have the Quest, but I've got the DK2 and ordered a CV1 today. I'm all for it in concept as an affordable option for people who don't necessarily have the hardware/space/£££ for 'full' VR.

Vox Machinae is the game VR was made for. It's a Mechwarrior style mech combat game. Still in Early access, but it's pretty cheap, can be played with pretty much any controller in VR (KB+M, controller and motion controls) full recommend it to anyone with VR. Has a decent community, never have any trouble finding a full game.

Beat Saber is awesome.

Superhot VR is the most fun I've ever had in VR.

I haven't tried it yet but I've heard very good things about Pavlov VR, basically CS in VR from what I gather, same with Arizona Sunshine.

4 years ago
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I agree, Superhot VR is also my best experience so far. I tried it again today at work, with some more space, so I could actually walk around relatively freely (a few steps in each direction). The normal version of that game was already brilliant. But the VR version is like 10 times better. Amazing how good the game generates the feeling of presence. After my session I actually was about to put my headset onto a table - a table that only existed in VR a second before, lol.

Thanks a lot for the recommendation. You convinced me. I bought Vox Machinae and briefly tried it out just now. It's really, really good. You really feel like you're sitting in that cockpit of a giant mech, with all the functional instruments and stuff. Very nice! I just wish it had a campaign.

As a Guitar Hero Junkie Beat Saber is obviously one of the first things I tried. Brilliant game. Can see myself spending countless hours in it.

4 years ago
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Glad you liked Vox Machinae. It was a game I had on my wishlist for about 6 months until I decided to finally go for it during the last sale. Should have done it months ago. I'm hoping they add some kind of campaign too, co-op mode just got implemented so fingers crossed. Even a horde mode or something would work. Kind of hoping it gets some kind of workshop support too, the map variety isn't currently huge unfortunately.

4 years ago
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Horde mode would be nice, sure. But I am still hoping for a proper campaign. Even though the chances of that happening are probably rather slim. I could also imagine challenges. Like getting to a point or defeating x enemies in a certain time. Or sort of climbing a high mountain. Or obstacle courses. Something like that.

4 years ago
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Yeah, anything really just to give it a bit more variety. I mean it has bots already, so basic AI and stuff is done, it's just giving it some structure.

4 years ago
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I tried it again today at work

Living the best life. ;)

4 years ago
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First time I tried VR was actually a PSVR at work a couple of years ago. Working for a video game retailer had it's advantages (though not many >_>)

4 years ago
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I think VR is generally a great idea, and I see its potential for use in many other different fields besides gaming and tech. Wireless VR would be amazing, and would definitely up the users' immersion. I've tried Beat Saber in one of the events of our organization in uni, and I really enjoyed it and would like to own one in the future. However, the cost for the gear + a high end PC is pretty high, especially in our country where VR isn't really known like it is in other places. 😓

4 years ago
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Exactly. That's why the Quest is so brilliant. Not only does it allow for free untethered movement. But it's also relatively cheap. You get everything you need for 400$ (or 450€ here, for example). Tracking is inside-out (so no base stations), and the controllers are included. No PC or any extra accessories needed.

And if you have a good PC anyway, you can even use it as a PC headset via streaming. It certainly isn't perfect, but it works and is absolutely viable. I played through The Invisible Hours on the weekend, which was amazing. 5 hours of PC VR in the Quest (i used VirtualDesktop, though, not ALVR).

4 years ago
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OH, the Oculus Quest can play games by itself! I'm not sure how I missed that part while reading. 😓 In that case, that's amazing. This is a great step for VR. $400 is still pretty steep for budget gamers I think, but it's definitely a good deal for people who can afford it. I might get one (or its successor, if they release one) in a few years.

4 years ago
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I've had an Oculus Go for about a year and a Quest for a month and a half, but I'm playing on my Go, not on the Quest. This has to do with the type of games available and my lack of a dedicated VR space. It's funny that the Quest made me fall in love with the Go, but really, there are quite a few nice games for the Go which are more up my alley (narrative, exploration, puzzles, not action).

However, I will soon have a VR capable laptop, and I plan to use ReLive VR to stream to my Quest. I've read that ReLive is at least as good if not better than ALVR. At that point I'm sure I'll try more games, because the PC at least have a large enough variety of games that aren't action based.

4 years ago
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I actually didn't know Relive VR. So I looked it up and wanted to test it, but it seems it's only for AMD cards. :/

4 years ago
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Yes. Unfortunately it's also limited to RX 470 or better. I wanted to test it to know if it works reasonably enough that it'd be worth splurging on some VR games on the current sales before I have the laptop (Skyrim VR for $20 sounds like good value, for example), but unfortunately I only have an RX 460. I tried ALVR but for some reason it couldn't connect to my Go (recognised it, but connection dropped immediately).

4 years ago
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Hm, why did you even come that far with your AMD GPU? Interesting. To my knowledge ALVR only supports nVidia. I even had problems using it on a work laptop with a (mobile) GTX 1080. ALVR just gave me a message box that said it only supports nVidia GPUs.

https://github.com/polygraphene/ALVR/issues/158

4 years ago
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v2.3.1 (which is what I installed) has "Experimental support for AMD GPU".

4 years ago
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I see. Nice!

4 years ago
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Thanks a lot for GAs!

4 years ago
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I would have never had the luck to try out VR if my boyfriend wasn't a hardcore gamer. We own Oculus Rift.. My brother, who by the way hates cables, wires and all that clutter, recently purchased Quest. He's pretty satisfied, but because he was able to try out both, he says that the resolution on the Quest is slightly inferior, but that he still wouldn't change it for the cable/sensors variant.

I'm really a huge fun of VR and I can't wait for the day they start making point & clicks in VR because it's a match made in heaven.

I feel like a broken record now, but I really recommend I Expect You to Die. Be mindful however, it's only 3, 4 hours long, although it does have some replay value if you're the type who likes to try out different things and look for easter eggs.

We also had a lot of fun with Accounting+. It's an absurd and psychedelic game coming from the author(s) of Rick & Morty . Not much replayability either.

My boyfriend plays Elite Dangerous in VR like a maniac. I've tried it too, it looks fantastic.

4 years ago*
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but because he was able to try out both, he says that the resolution on the Quest is slightly inferior,

That's interesting. The Quest actually has a higher resolution. But it also depends on how the pixels are arranged, so that might be a factor.

Also heard about Accounting+. I believe the guy who made The Stanley Parable is also involved. Definitely have to get that one soon.

4 years ago
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Funny this subject would crop up. I've spent the last two days combing through articles about VR sets.
My late grandpa who I lived with and cared for bought off his own house. His will was to have the place sold, and split the money between his daughters to make sure they're cared for, but with the note that each of us grandsons should get some too. Following exactly what I know he would say, I'm going to be saving half of it for a rainy day, and get something to treat myself with the other half. Turns out, it gives me just enough to squeeze into buying a Vive (or cheaper) headset.

I'm still undecided, though the Quest's automatic portability is certainly tempting given how few people have excess space in the rooms their computers are located, haha. In my case, I have a 5ft x 5.5ft space I could use in my bedroom, which is a little tricky unless for specific games like Hover Junkers that have adjustable gameplay zones due to vehicle size types (or just plain seated games). Though the spare room next to me could be tidied up and potentially give me a 6.6ft x 5.9ft space if we can keep the junk from piling up, haha. Though the spare room would need me to bump the price a little for an extended active hdmi cable to make sure the box/leads can reach around the corner, haha. Though with total wireless I could head on downstairs and get a slightly bigger open space (with couches on two sides I can reach over at the border of the zone). I wouldn't be taking a VRset off the property though, haha nooo way, not when they cost that much. I'm a paranoid baby~

The various headsets all have their advantages, even the ones with weaker performances and tracking hiccups compensate for it in price. My computer isn't exactly a powerhouse but it's more than strong enough for typical PC gaming (gtx1060 8gb, 16gb DD3ram, i5-4670). Coming to a conclusive decision is pretty rough. Rift overcame a lot of its early hiccups with its revised Rift-S sidegrade/replacement. Vive stayed strong but tends to soak money if you want peripherals (it does have wireless kit you can buy, substituting for a battery-pack, but again, more money). Quest came onto the scene for people who don't want to have constant hassle and set-up issues.

It's really quite tricky. Except the Vive Pro, I'll be dodging that one pretty hard with THAT pricetag, no matter the specs, haha.

I'm totally open to peoples input on their favourites, or ones that they own (pros, cons, etc)
pls, halp.
If I can nail down what I want to buy soon, I can grab some VR games on their current VR Sale too, haha. Then again, I don't even know if the headsets come bundled with any, or whether the titles changed with their revisions.

4 years ago*
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I will try to give some advice, based on what I know about the different sets available.

  • Oculus Quest:

The obvious advantage is that it's untethered. This really gives you some freedom that you don't have with other headsets. Especially in games like SUPERHOT VR, where you don't just stand but actually walk 2 or 3 steps and have to rotate to all directions, this is really great. No fear of tripping on your own cables (and possibly even breaking something!).

Another plus: you don't need a PC for it. It has its own processor and does a fairly good job of delivering graphics good enough for a pleasant VR experience. Games like Vader Immortal look surprisingly good. You also don't need to install base stations.

And it's cheap. 400$ for a complete solution including controllers. That's not bad. At least compared to Vive/Index.

The big disadvantage: it's meant as a closed system. It's more like a VR console, you could say. It has around 40 games right now (plus a few free experiences and tools). And that's it at the moment (with more games announced, though). Unless you do streaming from your PC. And while I am very happy with how streaming solutions like ALVR or VirtualDesktop perform, it's certainly not perfect. You will notice a difference between native games and streamed ones. The tracking of the controllers always seems a little wobbly compared to native games. Don't get me wrong, it works surprisingly well and I consider it absolutely playable. I just played The Invisible Hours on the weekend. Played through the whole game. A good 5 hours via streaming, and it was no problem at all. After that I played some Serious Sam 3, and that one worked quite well, too. It is absolutely playable. And I personally will most likely spend way more hours with PC games than with native ones. But if you are only interested in PC games, I probably wouldn't recommend the Quest. See the streaming thing as a nice bonus, not as the main application of it. Also, if you want to do streaming, you need a router with 5GHz WLAN. And I guess you shouldn't be too far away from it while playing.

Another contra: it's battery powered. So after a few hours you will have to recharge it. Or plug in a cable, which means you lose the praised untethered freedom for a while. Not a big deal, but should be mentioned.

  • Vive

I personally would not go for the Vive anymore. It is kind of obsolete at this point. Image quality is not that good. The controllers (Wands) are probably the worst controller on the market (with the exception of the PS Move controllers). It's a first gen headset, and we just got the second generation. I don't see any good reason to still go for the Vive at this point.

  • Vive Pro

Overpriced. And not even that much better than the first one. Better resolution, but the same FOV and the same controllers. If you want to invest that much money, go for the Index. At this point the Vive Pro is obsolete as well.

  • Valve Index

A really interesting headset, with the most advanced controllers on the market (even there seem to be some compatibility issues with a few games, which I guess is to be expected on release). Good resolution and image clarity. If you don't mind the cables and have the money (because with all accessories it's more on the expensive side) then this seems to be the first choice.

  • Oculus Rift S

Same (great) controllers like the Quest. Also with the same inside-out tracking, which works really well and eliminates the need for base stations. It has the same price as the Quest, and for this price it's a great headset. Even if it can't compete with the Index from a technical standpoint. But it also costs like half. So if you want a PC experience for little money, this is probably a really good choice.

  • WMR (Windows Mixed Reality)

I don't know most of the available headsets. If I had to choose one of those, I would definitely go for the HP Reverb, since it has a higher resolution than all the here mentioned headsets and therefore eliminates the screendoor effect. But I really don't know enough about it or the other WMR sets to give an informed recommendation.

  • Pimax 5k+/8k

The FOV of 200 degrees is vastly superior to all other headsets (we will ignore the super-expensive StarVR here). But the headset is rather expensive (800€ here) and the Pimax controllers and base stations are not even on the market. It is compatible to Vive accessories. But those are very expensive as well (2x base stations and 2x Vive wands or Index Knuckles = around 600€...). I see the Pimax as the headset with the most potential on the list. But it is expensive, and the fact that their own accessories are not even ready is a bummer.

4 years ago*
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Thanks for taking the time to give me the lowdown. It pretty much confirms everything I've gathered through research, except that the Vive is less obsolete and more the middleground but with the slightly higher pricetag. Vive Pro is outside of my price range (and interest, given what you get for the cost).

I have considered Oculus S, though that is more a sidegrade than anything else, apparently with one or two new hiccups which kinda offsets being the latest model. Quest is tempting for its portability but at the same price as the 'full' wired headset, I dunno. Index seems cool but is still new, and therefore expensive and rife with compatabilty issues.

If I really can't make up my mind I'll just find the cheapest prices for Vive/Oculus S (tallying vital extras) and go with that. The chances are that if VR really gets its hooks into me, I'll want to sell my headset and buy into the next generations when they come (and have their relative price-drops). The hardest part aside from the research is going to be forcing myself to actually press the 'finalise order' button, with the spirit of so many sacrificed currency souls fighting back against me, bahaha.

But seriously, thanks for giving your insights. Trying to figure out which side of the oculus/vive divide I'm going to land on is hard, when there are fans of both, and the only true way to make an informed choice is to playtest them both myself, which aint happening, haha.

4 years ago
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The Quest is a very good HMD, Try https://store.steampowered.com/app/885000/Synth_Riders/ with ALVR, It's much better than Beat Saber. The graphics is much better in VR what you see in steam screenshots. I played it like 6 hours on sunday, and got muscle strain, still i'm played 2 hours yesterday too.. I'm a huge Vox Machinae fan, but since i got Synth Riders, i'm only playing this game.

4 years ago
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Thank you very much, will definitely check it out. :)

4 years ago
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