Community Question | Who Here Uses VR, And Why?

[Paul Jeffrey]

Sim racing is far more than just the simulations themselves - a long, wide and varied array of hardware can be used to enhance your experience, and one such device is VR - but who here uses it on a regular basis?

VR - otherwise known as Virtual Reality, brings with it the ability to place a driver right into the heart of a virtual racing cockpit. Adding an immersive 3D experience to the driving aspect of sim racing, the technology and immersion are no doubt impressive - but can come with a cost - namely loss of visual performance, high PC horsepower demand and the (potential) discomfort of wearing a headset for prolonged periods of time.

As with much in life, one has to weigh up the pros and cons and VR is no different. With that said, I'd love to know how many of us here at RaceDepartment regularly use their VR headsets when sim racing, and the reasons why they prefer it (or not) over traditional screens.

Fire away in the comments section and poll!

 

[blekenbleu]

In other words, works better for far sighted folks.

Well, it is not focus alone, which is compensated for those wearing corrective lenses,
but also the distance at which eye gazes intersect, which pupillary distance adjustment addresses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binocular_vision

while I don't know the focal length of the odyssey, many are 2M or less

Likewise, I do not know exact Odyssey focal length, but my eyeglass experiments puts it beyond 2M.

 

[blekenbleu]

I’ve noticed my eye sight has started getting worse lately.
I’ve no idea if it’s because if VR or if it’s just me getting older?

Human vision often deteriorates appreciably around age 40. Before then, for annual inventories I was able to lean over equipment and read serial numbers engraved on black panels upside down, without supplemental illumination.
By age 45, corrective lenses and a flashlight were required,
and I could no longer reliably read them upside down.
https://www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/eyes-after-40/

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Incorrect IPD settings will cause eye strain and might affect vision in a long term. Not all HMDs report accurate IPD, there was a problem with WMR in the past when it was grossly off.

 

[Alex72]

Human vision often deteriorates appreciably around age 40. Before then, for annual inventories I was able to lean over equipment and read serial numbers engraved on black panels upside down, without supplemental illumination.
By age 45, corrective lenses and a flashlight were required,
and I could no longer reliably read them upside down.
https://www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/eyes-after-40/

According to the eye doctors i had better vision than most. Come age 45 and i all of a sudden woke up with slightly blurry vision. Thought it would go away but nope. A year after that doctors said i needed glasses to see things clear far away again but i couldnt believe it. Before that I could make out people from so far away that they were dots basically. I could tell if it was a friend. I could read signs from so far away that my friends always thought i was messing with them until we passed the signs and i was right. You younglings out there make the best of your youth because its temporary.

 

[Hor-hay]

I'm faster and more consistent in VR, that's all the reason I need.

 

[Butthurt_Saddle_sore]

According to the eye doctors i had better vision than most. Come age 45 and i all of a sudden woke up with slightly blurry vision. Thought it would go away but nope. A year after that doctors said i needed glasses to see things clear far away again but i couldnt believe it. Before that I could make out people from so far away that they were dots basically. I could tell if it was a friend. I could read signs from so far away that my friends always thought i was messing with them until we passed the signs and i was right. You younglings out there make the best of your youth because its temporary.

This sounds like my experiences. As a non VR user (for the time being) my vision has deteriorated a little since turning 42. I'm thinking about asking my doctor about vision tests, cause I am getting concerned.

 

[Michael Payne]

This sounds like my experiences. As a non VR user (for the time being) my vision has deteriorated a little since turning 42. I'm thinking about asking my doctor about vision tests, cause I am getting concerned.

It probably comes to us all sooner or later. But getting an eye test will include tests for glaucoma, and other eye problems so best to get a test if you have any concerns.

If you end up needed glasses or have glasses, you can get prescription lenses for the popular VR Headsets made, which just clip into the headset and they work well.

 

[noviembre]

only %7 says i tried at not liked.

that's great.

for me i dont play games that doesnt support vr. hp give me my f--king reverb g2 please.

 

[Pazop]

I asked this question myself very often. You are the first I read who's having serious doubts here as well. Anyone who knows more about this topic?

I started riding the CV1 as soon as it came out, switched to the Rift S and after a recent check-up with the ophthalmologist I didn't have to change my glasses. No problem with VR, and for the harm due to VR, I was sick at the beginning, but after several sessions, from short to very long, always increasing a little more, I no longer have any worry.
My eyes tell my brain that I am moving while the vestibular system in the ears is signaling to my brain that I am not moving, hence the "motion sickness" which causes discomfort in VR, except that the brains learns and finally understands that the eyes lie to him and so he adapts and we are no longer sick, so for me it's OK for VR, and definitely worth it!
it's not easy to write in English, I'm Belgian and I speak French, and you know that French speakers are very very very very good at languages! ;-) and so, sorry for the approximations of the language (and also for me the opportunity to thank Racedepartment for accepting the whole world on their website, the best in the world!)

 

[T_rac3]

I have an WMR Lenovo. I'm OK with the headset for short races, max 30 minutes. But I can't wear it for longer sessions. I can't even practice in VR, because a practice session it is always longer then 60 minutes. So I just take some agreement rides in VR, from time to time.
The main issue in VR for me is resolution. I didn't like at all how blurry are the things at distance. I recon, the interior of the cars are amazing, and also the feel when you look at right and left and you are surrounded by cars. Beautiful.

My eyes tell my brain that I am moving while the vestibular system in the ears is signaling to my brain that I am not moving, hence the "motion sickness" which causes discomfort in VR

For racing, I have no problem, but I tried once Deus Ex VR demo. In 30 seconds I was hit by nausea. It felt SO WRONG to sit on chair and walk in VR I can't imagine me playing some FPS in VR

 

[motoliser]

VR is amazing but still lacks image quality.
If you only use it for hotlap is fine, but if you want to work on your car setup or spend some time on menus and lobbies you will want to get ultrawide monitor(s).
Personally I didn't experience any motion sickness except on zero gravity games like adr1ft, but there's another thing that made me sell my VR sets, the fact that I don't feel safe getting away from reality when being alone.
Basically I can't feel comfortable neglecting reality for a long period of time. It just prevents me from fully enjoying the game.
So my answer to the question would be a strange one: I like it but I don't use it!!

 

[metalnwood]

VR is amazing but still lacks image quality.
If you only use it for hotlap is fine, but if you want to work on your car setup or spend some time on menus and lobbies you will want to get ultrawide monitor(s).

Obviously lots of people are racing in it, not just hotlaps. I think the only people I read that were slower didn't like to race in it so in some ways makes sense they dont like it as much.

On the other hand, if I was using motec it;s much easier taking off your headset and using your monitor but it's not a mutually exclusive thing to be able to do this

 

[Deleted member 1234936]

Regards Headsets,

Is there a best of the best, or is their a best specific model for racing games.

J

 

[blekenbleu]

Is there a best of the best

Perhaps, and many expect that the HP Reverb G2 is/will be it
* good image quality
* good sound
* adjustable pupillary distance
* flip-up
Some concerns:
* demanding on CPU and GPU
* Windows Mixed Reality, so a level of abstraction away from SteamVR
* kinda heavy
* not great fit adjustability

more about G2 here

 

[RCHeliguy]

For Sim Racing the HP Reverb G2 or Pimax KX8 should win top honors.

I've heard some very good things about the Pimax KX8 from some of the initial owners of them and the G2 is just starting to trickle out.

For general all around use including Room Scale the Valve Index still seems the top dog, but it's already 18 months old so there should be a replacement in the works by now.

 

[AyaShun]

Having VR is certainly beneficial to both gameplay and most importantly IMMERSION. That is without a doubt what comes to my mind. And it's not like it's going to hurt to invest in one particularly and it shows it's appeal to simulator games without a doubt. It could be using it from Assetto Corsa or DCS World where the VR Hud just looks astonishingly good. My First try at using VR came with Project Cars 2 with a VIVE, and it served as a great first experience.

Now all in all, it's a great addition to the whole "Muh Immersion" factor. However, the "affordability" becomes the elephant in the room where it requires people to invest in a better GPU that supports VR. Since this starts off with a GTX 1060 (iirc) for NVIDIA and money isn't really easy to put two and two into a single pack. And the quality isn't up there yet against the non-VR resolution so personally it's something to wait for later on. If you have the money to fork over for this investment, I'd certainly advise to give it a bash cause it does breathe a breeze of fresh air into an experience.

Honestly, I believe it's a matter of waiting and there's quite a bit of joy that will await us. GPU Investments are a bit too much of an ouch for many still so we shall see.

 

[onearmedbandit46]

Honestly, I believe it's a matter of waiting and there's quite a bit of joy that will await us. GPU Investments are a bit too much of an ouch for many still so we shall see.

But without consumers investing now by buying current generation VR then manufacturers are less likely to invest in new tech. For VR to become affordable and a better experience requires support now imo.

 

[Deleted member 1234936]

@blekenbleu, @RCHeliguy,

Thankyou for the suggestions, I shall start Researching Those two.

J

 

[blekenbleu]

I shall start Researching Those two

The Pimax 8K plus is now available on Amazon; Pimax evidently is getting supply issues sorted.
Reviews there are quite mixed, which presumably reflects that only
now are GPUs and processors becoming available to support it decently,
and configuration for various games still requires more than plug and play.

For clarification, 8K plus oversamples 4K video to 4K per eye, while 8KX accepts 4K per eye,
but 8KX production currently is barely started.

 

[gustau]

Love from first sight