Looking to get in to VR but sooo confused.....help

Associate
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I'm in pretty much in the same boat; looking to get a VR setup just before Christmas but as I've looked into the different systems more closely in recent weeks I can't seem to settle on either option just yet and switch back and forth. I even backed the Pimax 8K briefly but withdrew after the 75Hz issue and a few other concerns. At the moment I'm leaning more towards the Rift but am waiting to see if there will be any Black Friday and/or early Christmas deals on the Rift or Vive before taking the plunge.

On the cost issue if you're not looking for Roomscale then the Rift's £399 price seems like a no-brainer. As I want a roomscale setup the cost differential between the Rift and Vive actually seems pretty negligible. While some users report decent roomscale tracking with the Rift's two included sensors set up diagonally, most of the guides recommend 3 and even 4 sensors. Similarly, to ensure optimal performance a USB3 add-in card is recommended and again the advised option for 3+ sensors is the Startech card with 4 dedicated USB3 channels.

When you start totting up the cost of the USB card (~£85), 2x extra sensors (~£120) and active USB3 extension cables (£30-60+ depending on length and how many sensors need to be extended) the Vive seems competitive on price given that the Vive is reportedly a lot less hassle to configure and maintain for roomscale. Tracking on the Vive works well on the included two lighthouses out of the box without the complexity of managing extra extension USB cables and bandwidth or fiddling with drivers after a Windows update, etc.

My sense is that the serious funds that Oculus have received from Facebook to plough into software/game development are starting to pay dividends now so the Rift seems like a safer bet despite a few high profile exclusives for the Vive.
 
Soldato
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I'm in pretty much in the same boat; looking to get a VR setup just before Christmas but as I've looked into the different systems more closely in recent weeks I can't seem to settle on either option just yet and switch back and forth. I even backed the Pimax 8K briefly but withdrew after the 75Hz issue and a few other concerns. At the moment I'm leaning more towards the Rift but am waiting to see if there will be any Black Friday and/or early Christmas deals on the Rift or Vive before taking the plunge.

On the cost issue if you're not looking for Roomscale then the Rift's £399 price seems like a no-brainer. As I want a roomscale setup the cost differential between the Rift and Vive actually seems pretty negligible. While some users report decent roomscale tracking with the Rift's two included sensors set up diagonally, most of the guides recommend 3 and even 4 sensors. Similarly, to ensure optimal performance a USB3 add-in card is recommended and again the advised option for 3+ sensors is the Startech card with 4 dedicated USB3 channels.

When you start totting up the cost of the USB card (~£85), 2x extra sensors (~£120) and active USB3 extension cables (£30-60+ depending on length and how many sensors need to be extended) the Vive seems competitive on price given that the Vive is reportedly a lot less hassle to configure and maintain for roomscale. Tracking on the Vive works well on the included two lighthouses out of the box without the complexity of managing extra extension USB cables and bandwidth or fiddling with drivers after a Windows update, etc.

My sense is that the serious funds that Oculus have received from Facebook to plough into software/game development are starting to pay dividends now so the Rift seems like a safer bet despite a few high profile exclusives for the Vive.


You don't need an active USB 3 extension cable for the extra sensors. They come with a USB 2 cable that works perfect. You might not need a USB adapter card either, even with 4 sensors. Why would you pay £85 for a USB card when a £20 one would do. Some people have found that 2 sensors has given them good room scale.

I think you need to ask questions here based on what your room size is and what hardware you have etc.
 
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I'm in pretty much in the same boat; looking to get a VR setup just before Christmas but as I've looked into the different systems more closely in recent weeks I can't seem to settle on either option just yet and switch back and forth. I even backed the Pimax 8K briefly but withdrew after the 75Hz issue and a few other concerns. At the moment I'm leaning more towards the Rift but am waiting to see if there will be any Black Friday and/or early Christmas deals on the Rift or Vive before taking the plunge.

On the cost issue if you're not looking for Roomscale then the Rift's £399 price seems like a no-brainer. As I want a roomscale setup the cost differential between the Rift and Vive actually seems pretty negligible. While some users report decent roomscale tracking with the Rift's two included sensors set up diagonally, most of the guides recommend 3 and even 4 sensors. Similarly, to ensure optimal performance a USB3 add-in card is recommended and again the advised option for 3+ sensors is the Startech card with 4 dedicated USB3 channels.

When you start totting up the cost of the USB card (~£85), 2x extra sensors (~£120) and active USB3 extension cables (£30-60+ depending on length and how many sensors need to be extended) the Vive seems competitive on price given that the Vive is reportedly a lot less hassle to configure and maintain for roomscale. Tracking on the Vive works well on the included two lighthouses out of the box without the complexity of managing extra extension USB cables and bandwidth or fiddling with drivers after a Windows update, etc.

My sense is that the serious funds that Oculus have received from Facebook to plough into software/game development are starting to pay dividends now so the Rift seems like a safer bet despite a few high profile exclusives for the Vive.

Pimax is no where near ready. Those who back it see it as the leading edge, those with patience view it as the bleeding edge.

Mixed Reality suffers both from poor controller tracking due to inside-out blind area being huge. Not a fan of the MR controller design either. Microsoft may add external sensors similar to the Rift but that drives the cost up.

Rift vs Vive, the only real options at the moment. Rift wins on price, comfort and controllers. Vive wins on play area size ~4m square, Rift ~3m square. As others have said, you may not require an additional USB card depending on your motherboard. If you do then the £20 cards seem to do the job just as well as the £70.
 
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After all the positive reply I received I would just like to let you know I just purchased a rift for myself. Unfortunately the Mrs says it's to be put away for my Xmas present. So to make sure I don't get any nasty unforseen problems when I set it up at Xmas I just wanted to ask a couple of questions...
1 should I get an extra sensor bearing in mind my play space is not that big.
2 if I were to pay multi player on the rift how would I utilise a mic. ...at the minute I use a headset with a built in mic for my online gaming.
3 I've read a bit about the vr store thing...is it easy to access and work with...
4 last but not least could you guys recommend some games and stuff for me to play or try to get me used to vr be for I get some real games....must admit I like the look of that space game lone echo....
Cheers guys and hopefully see you on the vr side
 
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After all the positive reply I received I would just like to let you know I just purchased a rift for myself. Unfortunately the Mrs says it's to be put away for my Xmas present. So to make sure I don't get any nasty unforseen problems when I set it up at Xmas I just wanted to ask a couple of questions...
1 should I get an extra sensor bearing in mind my play space is not that big.
2 if I were to pay multi player on the rift how would I utilise a mic. ...at the minute I use a headset with a built in mic for my online gaming.
3 I've read a bit about the vr store thing...is it easy to access and work with...
4 last but not least could you guys recommend some games and stuff for me to play or try to get me used to vr be for I get some real games....must admit I like the look of that space game lone echo....
Cheers guys and hopefully see you on the vr side

I posted most of this in answer to another thread, then updated a little. I will try and do a proper getting started at some point -

Before purchase, use the compatibility tool to test your PC including USB ports - https://support.oculus.com/1357437467617798/

Download the Oculus software, including Oculus Home which is the store front from - https://www.oculus.com/setup/

The Oculus bundle comes with a few games/apps, to be more exact the Touch controllers do. The games become available when you register the Touch controllers.

  • First Contact - Fantasic introduction.
  • Dream Deck - Another good introduction.
  • Robo Recall - Very good, perhaps the best VR shooter.
  • Lucky's Tale - 3D platforming in the 3rd person view.
  • Echo Arena - VR sports.
  • Dead And Buried - Target shooter.
  • Toybox - Not looked at yet.
  • Quill - 3D dawing / paint app.
  • Medium - 3D sculpting app.
On Steam, I have purchased Arizona Sunshine, Dead Effect 2 VR, Elite Dangerous, Raw Data, Subnautica, The Talos Principle VR, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter VR and VTOL to name a few. YouTube is a great source for reviews and gameplay.

There are also some fantastic free mods for older non VR games. Doom 3 BFG, Alien Isolation (it's a must try), Half-Life, Quake II, etc.

To make life easier, download Oculus Tray Tool and optionally have that set your audio device and launch Oculus Home for you - https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/5okoju/oculus_tray_tool/ (My settings below, Super Sampling at 2 for the 1080Ti, default is 1. I think 1.4 is suitable for a 1070) -

5ySsMK4s.jpg fKXPCGss.jpg 1w3Phmss.jpg

In Oculus home settings, Turn on Unknown Sources to allow launching SteamVR from Oculus -

W9GaoC7s.jpg

Also for SteamVR, the Oculus Tray Tool will set the preferred audio device so we don't need to in Steam. Oculus uses their own version of Asynchronous Reprojection so we can turn that off as well -

qAyqVDfs.jpg EhQYpuIs.jpg

Be sure to check out Steam's VR introduction also, The Lab. The archery mini game found within is very addictive.

Just some other thoughts/ramblings -

  • DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HEADSET WHERE SUNLIGHT CAN HIT IT. The lenses are magnifiying glasses, they will burn the displays. This damage is not covered by warranty
  • The extra sensor? It's perfectly useable with two sensors. Try two first, then decide.
  • The headset requires a USB 3.0 and a HDMI port.
  • The sensors require one USB port each. I use USB 3.0 ports, but others have reported success with 2.0 or even a mix.
  • The headset already includes a mic.
  • The Touch controllers use a AA battery each. They last ~4weeks plus, you may want to grab a set of rechargable batteries.
  • Look for ACTIVE USB extensions if you want to extend the sensor distance. Ugreen do a nice 2/3m HDMI and USB extension for the headset / sensors. The 5m USB 3.0 Super Speed active extensions on the bay also work.
  • The original Summer of Rift bundle came with an Xbox controller. The current bundle doesn't so you may want to order one at the same time. THIS IS NOT REQUIRED THOUGH.
  • Take care entering your name when creating an Oculus account as you can't change it later without going through support. You can if you use a Facebook account.
 
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Soldato
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I'd get a third sensor personally, I ordered one within a few days. If you want to play games like Onward and Pavlov VR which are essentially competitive shooters you don't want to turn hit a sensor blind spot and not be able to have it properly see where your hand is. If you want to play driving games or space sims then you probably don't need one.
 
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I'd get a third sensor personally, I ordered one within a few days. If you want to play games like Onward and Pavlov VR which are essentially competitive shooters you don't want to turn hit a sensor blind spot and not be able to have it properly see where your hand is. If you want to play driving games or space sims then you probably don't need one.

ok dude....anyways i seemto be having trouble actually getting hold of a third sensor. Have you got to order them from abroad or can you get hold of them over here?.....also any idea how long the cable is on the sensors just in case i need an extension, and if i do could somebody recommend a good quality extension.Finally as i have had to put my rift away to santa can you guys think of any other little extras i could need to make my experience just that bit better....i can ask family for them items as pressies....
 
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I ordered a 3rd sensor from their website, came with an extension. I recommend mounts for the cameras. Keep them up high. Another itemsome find useful, is to hook their cable from the ceiling so they dont trip over it.
 
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ok dude....anyways i seemto be having trouble actually getting hold of a third sensor. Have you got to order them from abroad or can you get hold of them over here?.....also any idea how long the cable is on the sensors just in case i need an extension, and if i do could somebody recommend a good quality extension.Finally as i have had to put my rift away to santa can you guys think of any other little extras i could need to make my experience just that bit better....i can ask family for them items as pressies....

The sensor has a 2.5M cable, and comes with a 5M USB 2.0 extension (you really don't need or want more than 2 sensors at USB 3.0 speeds, as that uses tons of bandwidth). I ordered mine directly from Oculus, it can be difficult to find them elsewhere.
 
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ok dude....anyways i seemto be having trouble actually getting hold of a third sensor. Have you got to order them from abroad or can you get hold of them over here?.....also any idea how long the cable is on the sensors just in case i need an extension, and if i do could somebody recommend a good quality extension.Finally as i have had to put my rift away to santa can you guys think of any other little extras i could need to make my experience just that bit better....i can ask family for them items as pressies....
You get the 3rd sensor directly from oculus, mine took a week to come, and it’s inproved my VR experience 100% I hated turning by using the analogue stick in games like Onward Pavlov etc. Now with 3rd sensor behind me I turn my body and it’s glorious! Some people have there to 2 sensors in opposing corners and say it work well, I tried it and for me it was poor experience, with terrible tracking and ‘floaty hands’

I HIGHLY recommend a 3rd sensor
 
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I think I'm now sold on a Rift, was always of the mindset that it has to be the Vive but reading all the comments I think you've just made my mind up.

Suppose my biggest concern is: are there exclusives to each headset? And are any of these exclusives must haves?
 
Soldato
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Most of the actual exclusives are on the Oculus store, but they are playable with Rift emulation software for Vive (called 'Revive'). Oculus exclusives tend to be very high quality (many are must have titles like Lone Echo) and recent releases make full use of the touch controllers. Credit has to be given to Oculus for putting a lot of money into VR game development and pushing the boundaries of VR gaming.

Vive runs on Steam's OpenVR, so even exclusive Vive games mostly run on the Rift too, even if the controls aren't optimal due to the differences beween Vive wands and the Rift touch controllers. There are a few cases where the Rift has been locked of Vive exlusive games, but in general most work. Even DoomVR doesn't specifically lock out the Rift, it just wasn't tested to work, which is why Steam had to put out an update to Steam VR to get it working on the Rift.

Basically, there's no need to fear platform exclusivity because there are in work-arounds to play exclusive content on Rift or Vive, though the Rift has most of the best exclusives.
 
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You get the 3rd sensor directly from oculus, mine took a week to come, and it’s inproved my VR experience 100% I hated turning by using the analogue stick in games like Onward Pavlov etc. Now with 3rd sensor behind me I turn my body and it’s glorious! Some people have there to 2 sensors in opposing corners and say it work well, I tried it and for me it was poor experience, with terrible tracking and ‘floaty hands’

I HIGHLY recommend a 3rd sensor
Just ordered an extra sensor hopefully be hère for Christmas
 
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OP
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Well its been a truly site Xmas as far as my journey in to vr is concerned. Firstly when trying to install software I got an error saying I needed some windows updates....which I didn't. ...managed to get a fix for that . Now I got to software install and I get a box pop up saying Microsoft runtime path not avaliable or something ....If I close it instalation ends...If I ignore it the software just does not install. ....I waited 40 mins. ..I'm so frustrated I could scream....I think my only way forward will be a windows reinstall. ....
 
Soldato
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Well its been a truly site Xmas as far as my journey in to vr is concerned. Firstly when trying to install software I got an error saying I needed some windows updates....which I didn't. ...managed to get a fix for that . Now I got to software install and I get a box pop up saying Microsoft runtime path not avaliable or something ....If I close it instalation ends...If I ignore it the software just does not install. ....I waited 40 mins. ..I'm so frustrated I could scream....I think my only way forward will be a windows reinstall. ....

Run an admin level command prompt and try sfc/ scannow before going down the reinstall route.
 
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