Is it best to try before you buy?

[Greboth]

Morning all,

Since upgrading my sim racing to a proper cockpit I've been using a 32" TV but feel like expanding it. I don't have the room for triples so I have been thinking of going VR. Specifically I've been looking at the Rift S as it ticks most of the boxes and I should be able to get decent frame rate with my 1070.

From reading about it though, there seems to be 2 potential problems;

1) The best IPD for the Rift S is between 61.5 and 65.5 but mine is about 72mm
2) Motion sickness - This seems to vary person to person but as I suffer with motion sickness in a real life I assume I will also in VR.

Which eventually leads me to my question of the thread title; Is it best to try before you buy? or just buy it and use DSR if I don't or can't get on with it.

 

[GBRusty]

Depends on your pockets. I think VR will radically change your life for sim racing but you may like it. I have a dozen or so friends that either have VR or have tried it. 2 of them had quick and horrid 'nope' reactions to the car motion, they may be able to overcome it but I don't think they've got the 'stomach' for it. [Actually, I've just thought, neither of them are gamers as such so maybe they don't get FPS stuff in general]

However 10 other people handle it just fine and love it.

I have the index and it's lovely with adjustable IPD etc, the rift-s is definitely at the right price point but haven't tried it. I think my IPD is smack in the middle of that range so I would probably be fine.

Oculus seem to do a better job at smoothing out any missed/skipped frames so your 1070 would be fine.

I assume you live in make believe so don't live anywhere near people who may have one?

 

[andybird123]

try before you buy - with your IPD you will definitely need one with mechanical adjustment, playing with the wrong IPD will give you headaches and eyestrain and you might even just get double vision that far wrong

 

[melmac]

Try before you buy if possible. Your IPD is 72mm which sounds like it's far outside the range of the lenses. But, there is more to a headset. There are people who have 72 IPD using the Rift S quite happily and there are others who are just outside the range, can't use it at all.

The fit of the headset is so important and often overlooked. It can mean the difference from a headset been the most comfortable thing ever to the worst thing ever invented!!

As for motion sickness. You can overcome this in VR, it just needs a little time. Some people can get over it in a matter of days, others take a couple of weeks. It's a simple process too. Once to feel even the slightest bit of nausea, STOP, take off the headset and go do something else for an hour or so. Don't try and fight through it, that just makes it worse. Starting to feel sick, STOP. Go back to it a little later and repeat. You will find yourself playing for longer before noticing the sick feeling and eventually it will go away almost entirely.

Maybe there is somewhere close to you that you can try a headset out? Or put up your location, maybe some nice forum member with a Rift S will let you demo it.

 

[Ravenger]

Quest will now support PC VR too, and that has variable IPD. May be an option if the Rift S IPD doesn't suit you.

 

[Greboth]

Thanks for the answers

Depends on your pockets. I think VR will radically change your life for sim racing but you may like it. I have a dozen or so friends that either have VR or have tried it. 2 of them had quick and horrid 'nope' reactions to the car motion, they may be able to overcome it but I don't think they've got the 'stomach' for it. [Actually, I've just thought, neither of them are gamers as such so maybe they don't get FPS stuff in general]

However 10 other people handle it just fine and love it.

I have the index and it's lovely with adjustable IPD etc, the rift-s is definitely at the right price point but haven't tried it. I think my IPD is smack in the middle of that range so I would probably be fine.

Oculus seem to do a better job at smoothing out any missed/skipped frames so your 1070 would be fine.

I assume you live in make believe so don't live anywhere near people who may have one?

To be honest, I had forgotten that I had set my location to make believe. Though I suppose it is better than admitting I live in Birmingham haha.

I don't suffer with any motion sickness or any other issues playing 'normal' games so hopefully it is something that could be overcome. It sounds like a headset with adjustable IPD is the way to go for me with my large head. Though I imagine with the increased res of something like the Index I'd really need a GPU upgrade too which turns a £400 VR upgrade to more like £1,500. While I can appreciate it is probably worth it, it also makes a more considered purchase.

Try before you buy if possible. Your IPD is 72mm which sounds like it's far outside the range of the lenses. But, there is more to a headset. There are people who have 72 IPD using the Rift S quite happily and there are others who are just outside the range, can't use it at all.

The fit of the headset is so important and often overlooked. It can mean the difference from a headset been the most comfortable thing ever to the worst thing ever invented!!

As for motion sickness. You can overcome this in VR, it just needs a little time. Some people can get over it in a matter of days, others take a couple of weeks. It's a simple process too. Once to feel even the slightest bit of nausea, STOP, take off the headset and go do something else for an hour or so. Don't try and fight through it, that just makes it worse. Starting to feel sick, STOP. Go back to it a little later and repeat. You will find yourself playing for longer before noticing the sick feeling and eventually it will go away almost entirely.

Maybe there is somewhere close to you that you can try a headset out? Or put up your location, maybe some nice forum member with a Rift S will let you demo it.

I didn't consider that fit of the headset as a whole, I assume my IPD is above average because my head a whole is quite above average. So I imagine I could find some headset uncomfortable. It is also handy to know that you can acclimatise to VR

 

[Greboth]

Quest will now support PC VR too, and that has variable IPD. May be an option if the Rift S IPD doesn't suit you.

I'd seen about the Quest but hadn't realised it could be plugged in as a normal VR. That is definitely something to consider thank you.

 

[melmac]

I didn't consider that fit of the headset as a whole, I assume my IPD is above average because my head a whole is quite above average. So I imagine I could find some headset uncomfortable. It is also handy to know that you can acclimatise to VR

The Fit of the headset affects everything else. I have two friends, both IPD 70. One finds the Rift S fine, the other thinks it's terrible. The difference between the two of them is one can get the headset on comfortably the other can't. Head size alone doesn't mean it will be uncomfortable for you.

 

[aoaaron]

Quest easily. Dem OLED blacks.

 

[melmac]

Quest easily. Dem OLED blacks.

Not if it's purely for Racing Sims. Any of the top headsets will be better than the Quest for PC racing sims.

 

[Greboth]

I'd try out other VR games just for the experience but I can't see it being used for much outside of sim racing.

 

[melmac]

I'd try out other VR games just for the experience but I can't see it being used for much outside of sim racing.

If you were even 50/50 between sims and other games, the Quest would be worth considering. But, since you are mainly focused on Sims, then other headsets are better. I would consider going for the HP Reverb if I was you. And if you are in no rush the Cosmos is coming out soon, might be worth waiting on Reviews to see what it's like.

 

[Ian James]

First post !
Building a DOF p3 sim soon and can`t decide between x 3 monitors or VR.
Problem is , i am old school and having spent years buying the latest ,better , resolution everything , would i be taking a back step using a VR set.
I have not tried one yet ,but would the first thing i would say is " i can`t use that the resolution is bad "
I don`t mind spending a bit more but am i better off waiting

 

[Quartz]

2) Motion sickness - This seems to vary person to person but as I suffer with motion sickness in a real life I assume I will also in VR.

The Rift S drops the refresh rate from 90 Hz to 80 Hz, so this may be a particular issue.

 

[melmac]

First post !
Building a DOF p3 sim soon and can`t decide between x 3 monitors or VR.
Problem is , i am old school and having spent years buying the latest ,better , resolution everything , would i be taking a back step using a VR set.
I have not tried one yet ,but would the first thing i would say is " i can`t use that the resolution is bad "
I don`t mind spending a bit more but am i better off waiting

Make your own thread. You would get more answers in it.

 

[Greboth]

If you were even 50/50 between sims and other games, the Quest would be worth considering. But, since you are mainly focused on Sims, then other headsets are better. I would consider going for the HP Reverb if I was you. And if you are in no rush the Cosmos is coming out soon, might be worth waiting on Reviews to see what it's like.

On paper, I've narrowed it down to the Reverb or Cosmos. The Reverb seems to be consider the best HMD for sit down VR but hardware IPD adjustment of the Cosmos sway me to it. Though reading on some sim racing forums people are running higher end GPU's than my 1070 to maintain a constant refresh rate. So I may delay until I can afford to do a GPU upgrade at the same time which works out quite well as I'm waiting for more hands on reviews of the Cosmos.

The Rift S drops the refresh rate from 90 Hz to 80 Hz, so this may be a particular issue.

I'd still like to try one to be sure but I think I've ruled the Rift S out anyway due to being considertably outside the IPD range.

 

[aoaaron]

On paper, I've narrowed it down to the Reverb or Cosmos. The Reverb seems to be consider the best HMD for sit down VR but hardware IPD adjustment of the Cosmos sway me to it. Though reading on some sim racing forums people are running higher end GPU's than my 1070 to maintain a constant refresh rate. So I may delay until I can afford to do a GPU upgrade at the same time which works out quite well as I'm waiting for more hands on reviews of the Cosmos.



I'd still like to try one to be sure but I think I've ruled the Rift S out anyway due to being considertably outside the IPD range.

Oculus and Index will have the best software and support moving forwards by far.

I do not expect HTC to match Oculus's tracking witchcraft, nor do I ever expected a WMR headset to match the Oculus ecosystem or Index ease of use.

I'd try to demo a Rift S and its a comfortable and cheap way into VR. Or just get an Oculus Quest and use Oculus link for it. Reviews have been great re: the compression.

 

[DanF]

racing sims probably cause the least motion sickness of all the VR game types. It's a very natural sitting position with limited motion directions. Motion sickness is usually caused when the movement is not natural like looking left but moving forward/right. You also have the car cockpit to kinda ground your vision. Big crashes can be a bit nasty to start with but get used to it pretty fast.

I've found racing is a bit less sensitive to refresh rates as well compared to FPS style games.

 

[melmac]

Just read your post in the other thread and replying here.

The Index is the better overall headset. That's without question. If you have the money it's the headset to buy.

 

[Greboth]

Just read your post in the other thread and replying here.

The Index is the better overall headset. That's without question. If you have the money it's the headset to buy.

Thanks for all the advice I think the Index is the way to go but yeah the cost of it plus a new GPU is a little Time to save those pennies.