VR

[Steve O'Malley]

I bought an Occulus Rift about 3 or 4 years ago and didnt like it. I think it was just about the only option at the time.

Have things improved?

Is VR much better than a wide screen?

Whats the best one to get at the moment?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[GeekyDeaks]

I recently converted from console and I bought my entire VR kit from scratch on a tight budget. Ended up paying £1,400 (~ $1,700 USD) with a scavenged monitor, keyboard and mouse.

£850 on the PC
Intel Core i5 9400F
16GB 2400MHz DDR4
RTX 2060 6GB

£550 on the headset (HP Reverb)

The PC is below spec for the headset as I messed up (I was going to get the rift S), but I am still getting 60fps - 90fps in AC with mid settings and 90fps in Elite Dangerous with it all turned up.

My expectation were low as my previous experience was only with the PSVR which I found to be pretty underwhelming and blurry as hell, but I have been pleasantly surprised with how well the reverb is performing and the resolution is way beyond that of the PSVR. I always felt a little nausea after 30 mins in the PSVR, but I literally had to force myself to stop and go to bed after spending 5 hours dogfighting in Elite Dangerous last night

With the resolution of the headset I am hoping this will last me 4 or 5 years, assuming it's not completely wrecked from overuse before then

My only real complaint is the FOV. It feels like you have a diving mask on and you have to get used to turning your head rather than glancing to the side. Not used it for anything other than sitting down though and the tracking of the WMR is reported to be lack lustre, so also expecting to be underwhelmed with anything outside sims.

I tried racing in 2D yesterday and realised how fortunate I am to be able to tolerate the VR for extended periods as I don't see myself ever going back now. Don't get me wrong, I'm no blinkered VR fanboy and I tried several other games that are simply not suited to VR for me (Skyrim makes me want to chuck in 5 mins unless I use the teleport movement which for me is a dealbreaker), but I'm finding that it's right up my alley for seated sim work.

 

[Fat-Alfie]

Just before Christmas I spent £100 on a used Odyssey+ and £100 on a used GTX1080. I think I have certainly got my money's worth out of them in the last few months

 

[Bonobhoy]

Valve Index is the best on the market at the moment,pricey though.

Ive had it since launch and love it tbh,way better since the original headsets were released. Never had any issues either and using old lighthouses with Knuckle controllers (no drifting either)

 

[jamman39]

Just before Christmas I spent £100 on a used Odyssey+ and £100 on a used GTX1080. I think I have certainly got my money's worth out of them in the last few months

I just got an Odyssey+ too and when I wanted to demonstrate it for my wife I put on AC and loaded up one your tracks

 

[GuitarTech]

Fixed.

View attachment 365099

There is a better solution : www.kabetec.de in their shop, under soundkits . Not exactly cheap ( €159), but, taking into account what this hobby of ours costs altogether, a reasonable price.
They're simple to install, and no extra cables, as they use the original jack plug on the headset itself. And Sennheiser loudspeakers, great sound

 

[smasha]

I have seen another headset that caught my eye.

HTC Vive Cosmos Elite.

Available in Australia for 1,699.

Pretty much the same res as all the others,in a few years time will be worth a third that,for me that is the issue,I don’t want to keep buying all the time,especially on peripherals,outlaying 1.5 k for a small increment of improvement each time.

I will wait till the tech comes to a point where the next version will not be significant.

This tech at the moment is still in the early stages of development I feel where in 2 years we will see another major upgrade.

That is the trouble with pc gaming,always chasing shadows.

When the rtx 4080 comes out,we will enter a time when vr will take off,4k headsets per eye with 90fps.

AMD will have something in the pipeline as well,their Ryzen cpus have been a God send.

 

[smasha]

Just before Christmas I spent £100 on a used Odyssey+ and £100 on a used GTX1080. I think I have certainly got my money's worth out of them in the last few months

How did you do that?
Very lucky to get those deals.
Very rare to find deals like that in Australia,most people sell used stuff for the same price as retail lol.

I saw a 10 year old Fanatec Porsche gt2 and CS v1 pedals,looked worn ,the seller wanted 500 for em lmao.

Saw an Odyssey plus listed for 800 Aus but in the USA,also a normal Odyssey for 1,200 but from Sth Korea,no 200 dollar deals here mate,gtx 1080s are still pricey as well here,sigh.

Worst place to live in Australia,if you are a geek that is,otherwise I love the old girl.

You just have to be more wiser with your geek spending,everything costs a dam fortune,especially niche products like vr headsets.

I can see though in 10 years time all these current vr headsets off loaded for 100 bucks,thrown away.

That’s just the unfortunate side of an industry that keeps changing and improving every 6 months it seems.

I can understand simracers throwing big money at stuff like dd wheels and hydraulic ,load cell pedals because they are already at a point of refinement.

Be interesting to see what Sony brings to the table,I love the ps4,I love how games made for ps4 are fully optimsed for the system,psvr2 games should utilise every last drop of the headset and not make you jump hoops to make it work.

I expect it to have the same sort of res as current vr headsets at the moment.

Microsoft could open up use of pc vr headsets with their very powerful xbox console but that would create stability issues,wonder when Microsoft jump on?

They are waiting for when vr tech and pricing stabilises I feel.

 

[Fat-Alfie]

I guess I just got lucky. I bought the gtx1080 off an online friend on Discord who was upgrading to a gtx2080. He said he loved the tracks I make for AC and offered me the gpu at a low price as a way of saying thanks. About a month later he upgraded his Odyssey+ to a Reverb and gave me first dibs, again, as a thank you for the tracks I make.

He's a very generous bloke and I can't thank him enough!

 

[smasha]

I guess I just got lucky. I bought the gtx1080 off an online friend on Discord who was upgrading to a gtx2080. He said he loved the tracks I make for AC and offered me the gpu at a low price as a way of saying thanks. About a month later he upgraded his Odyssey+ to a Reverb and gave me first dibs, again, as a thank you for the tracks I make.

He's a very generous bloke and I can't thank him enough!

Good for you mate.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

I have seen another headset that caught my eye.

HTC Vive Cosmos Elite.

Available in Australia for 1,699.

Good optics and screen, adjustable IPD, but totally screwed up tracking as they went for in house developed inside out tracking instead of WMR.
They are rolling out faceplate upgrade that let you use Valve tracking, but that adds external stations and cost.

 

[onearmedbandit46]

Good optics and screen, adjustable IPD, but totally screwed up tracking as they went for in house developed inside out tracking instead of WMR.
They are rolling out faceplate upgrade that let you use Valve tracking, but that adds external stations and cost.

The Elite uses lighthouses as standard.

VIVE Cosmos Elite Overview | VIVE New Zealand

Introducing VIVE Cosmos Elite. External tracking. Precise movements. Elite performance for PC-VR gamers.

www.vive.com

 

[tony wright]

Onearmbandit 4, have you tried the lense mod for the Vive Pro? big difference

 

[onearmedbandit46]

Onearmbandit 4, have you tried the lense mod for the Vive Pro? big difference

I've read about it and seen mixed reviews so haven't tried it yet. Obviously your impression is positive, if you've heard of the negative experiences (distortion of image?) could you tell me your thoughts?

 

[mrexcitement71]

Personally i would wait another 10 years as it's still needs a lot of development.

I had a HP Reverb headset and sold it a month after i got it , don't like stuff on my face , uncomfortable in hot weather , average graphics and a small sweet spot , heavy connecting cable made it restrictive to turn your head.

I have gone back to my 49" ultrawide monitor ( love it , highly recommended ) and actually prefer it over current VR.

I only play driving sims and I am actually faster using my 49" ultrawide monitor.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Personally i would wait another 10 years as it's still needs a lot of development.

I had a HP Reverb headset and sold it a month after i got it , don't like stuff on my face , uncomfortable in hot weather , average graphics and a small sweet spot , heavy connecting cable made it restrictive to turn your head.

I have gone back to my 49" ultrawide monitor ( love it , highly recommended ) and actually prefer it over current VR.

I only play driving sims and I am actually faster using my 49" ultrawide monitor.

Some people are lucky, I have 43" 16:9 4K strapped to my rig but can't force myself to play any sim on it after VR.
Thus ACC is just collecting dust.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

The Elite uses lighthouses as standard.

VIVE Cosmos Elite Overview | VIVE New Zealand

Introducing VIVE Cosmos Elite. External tracking. Precise movements. Elite performance for PC-VR gamers.

www.vive.com

Wow, that's cheap, are they unloading them at loss? Would really prefer them fixing inside out tracking though.

 

[smasha]

Some people are lucky, I have 43" 16:9 4K strapped to my rig but can't force myself to play any sim on it after VR.
Thus ACC is just collecting dust.

Ffs,sim racing has really turned into a rich man’s past time when someone moans about not having a 49 inch screen when they have a 43 inch lol.

I sorta miss the humble days.

I am still rocking my Dell 23 inch,only just purchased an LG 29 ultra wide screen and having buyers remorse already,the 23 was fine but you watch you tubes and people are like Veruca Salt urging you to buy the bigger monitor when I got on perfectly fine with my 23 inch Dell which has been flawless like my Logitech g27 except for pedal pots but that was after 8 years.

 

[onearmedbandit46]

Always been people with expensive tastes with computers.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Or cars or electronics or beverages or watches. Get any aspect of our lives.
No need to shame them, it will only make you feel worse. Enjoy what you have.

 

[Mascot]

Had issues with my CV1 recently (well, system issues, not really VR related) so tried 2D racing again. My screen is good, it's a 50" 4k 2' from my seating position, but 2D racing after VR is bloody awful IMO.
Stereoscopic 3D and full 360 degree vision add immersion that no number of pixels can compete with, and everything feels alive in 3D where it feels flat and lifeless in 2D. It's speaks volumes that cockpits look infinitely more detailed in my 1080p Rift than they ever do on a flat 4k display, even ignoring the fact that you can actually look around them in VR rather than feeling like you're looking through a letterbox while wearing a neck brace like when viewing a monitor.
VR and sim racing are perfect bedfellows, I reckon - and I'm using outdated tech compared to newer headsets.