*** HP Reverb G2 Owners Thread ***

wunkley said:
1. Like others have mentioned, this “sweet spot” thing I can see being a real problem. I’d say only about 15-20% of the whole view is in focus in the centre. If I just move my eyes to look around then it’s blurry and so obviously not as crisp and beautiful, it’s very very distracting.

does the Quest 2 have this issue? Does the index? If not I reckon I might prefer consistent clarity across the whole image, even if the resolution is lower
Click to expand...

Firstly make sure you are setting your IPD correctly, but yeah I'd say for me maybe the centre 30% is really crisp in a sort of oval shape (falls off more rapidly vertically than horizontally). You get used to moving your head to look rather than your eyes, and once immersed in a game it often becomes a non issue.

Quest 2 is probably a little better, but that's partly because it isn't quite as clear in the centre to begin with... the G2 gives a bigger contrast because of just how good that sweet spot is. Index has the best uniformity (even more impressive when you consider it has more FoV than the others too) when it comes to clarity due to the dual element lenses but those come with other drawbacks like increased glare in certain scenes and obviously it can't compete in pure resolution terms.

I’ve read about making sure it’s All aligned properly, and that maybe getting a modded gasket will help to get eyes nearer the lenses. Is this worth it? Any Significant difference?
I have my doubts though. Is this just how it is? Not sure I can live with that as it’s so jarringly obvious, as the sweet spot area is so damn incredible.
Click to expand...

Vertical alignment also important, as is playing with the tilt. Make sure the strap is cupping the bottom of your head. We all have different shaped faces so it will vary but try tilting the headset slightly up or down as well. Facial interface one is real easy to test - just remove the stock facial interface and hold the headset as close as you can to your eyes - this will give you a good idea of what (if anything) you will gain from a shallower interface. Again, give it some time and play some actual games and you'll probably get used to the sweet spot fairly quickly.

2. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing with regards to using either Windows own vr settings, steams own vr settings, something called openXR vr settings, or a combination of all three. Can anyone link me to some definitive info please on what to use for what games and why?
Click to expand...

For WMR generally just make sure you have best quality selected, I also turn off the automatic control switching. SteamVR will be screwing with you on your 3090 and trying to set around 130% as a base resolution. Manually set that to 100% and then you can tweak further per game as required...

OpenXR only applies currently to MSFS and Minecraft bedrock. It is the future of VR though so expect to see more of it over the next couple of years... Put really simply it is like a universal standard that allows games to run on any platform without needing to go through any other compatibility layers or requiring any runtime specific implementations. you can download the OpenXR developer app from the windows store which will allow you to change resolution like steam, force/turn off motion smoothing etc. It will only have any effect on OpenXR games.
 
Also, if you’re like me and wear varifocal glasses normally you’ll be used to always pointing your head rather than just move your eyes. I have a small ‘sweet spot’ in real life, so not a problem at all for me with G2
 
Thanks folks again, been slowly getting to grips with the G2 in the little time I've had today. I've not even properly gamed on it yet, still just experimenting around the house hubs but in Steam VR it prompted me to download 2 of the Half life hub areas to wonder around. Jesus Christ my mind is blown!!!! I'm really really glad I did wait a few years to finally dip into VR and have my first VR experience with the G2. It's ******* insane!

I'm getting used to the sweet spot issue too and I think I will be fine with it. As a photographer I'm just trying to think - shallow depth of field/ tilt shift issues.

I said to Mrs Wunkley earlier to try and convey the awesome experience - "if you'd strapped this on my head when I was 10 I think I would have genuinely died from the shock and excitement of how good it is." I've been gaming since gaming started by the way.

Quick question though, and as I've not bought any full games yet - why can't you use the left thumbstick to smoothly travel around the home hub areas? Why do you have to "warp" to certain points. I mean, if my room was big enough/ massive, I could literally walk around the areas to travel, but this is not a realistic option so why can't you traverse smoothly using the usual analogue stick controller method? Do actual games not have this either? This would put me right off if so...
 
wunkley said:
Quick question though, and as I've not bought any full games yet - why can't you use the left thumbstick to smoothly travel around the home hub areas? Why do you have to "warp" to certain points. I mean, if my room was big enough/ massive, I could literally walk around the areas to travel, but this is not a realistic option so why can't you traverse smoothly using the usual analogue stick controller method? Do actual games not have this either? This would put me right off if so...
Click to expand...
Most games have the option for smooth movement, like you were walking in any normal game. But typically the teleport option is widely favoured.
You will likely feel sick very quickly with smooth movement. Unless you're very good with not getting motion sickness.
 
Toothy1911 said:
Most games have the option for smooth movement, like you were walking in any normal game. But typically the teleport option is widely favoured.
You will likely feel sick very quickly with smooth movement. Unless you're very good with not getting motion sickness.
Click to expand...

that’s good to hear cheers.

By that logic then do flight sims and driving sims make a lot of people feel sick then?
Is that not smooth movement, or, is it completely different as you’re essentially fixed in place and the environment moves past you?
 
Also, are there any official or third party shallower face gaskets yet? I can’t find any. There a few diy mods but they lose the nose flaps which are vital for blocking out all light.

Testing without the default one slotted in I reckon this is definitely worth it for slightly better FOV.

Not sure it makes any meaningful difference to the sweet spot issue though.
 
wunkley said:
that’s good to hear cheers.

By that logic then do flight sims and driving sims make a lot of people feel sick then?
Is that not smooth movement, or, is it completely different as you’re essentially fixed in place and the environment moves past you?
Click to expand...

Flight sims and driving sims are generally better tolerated because the cockpit grounds you in the game.

From experience I’d say most are ok with smooth walking locomotion (if not at first, after a bit of practice), but smooth turning is something that some people just never like. Initially the smooth turning felt weird to me rather than nauseating, but I got over that pretty quickly. Most walking type games offer the combination of smooth movement and snap turning (and of course within the limitations of the cable you can just turn in real life too).

VRcover have a facial interface with thinner padding that according to some does help a bit - it isn’t a shallower interface itself though, for that you need to go 3D printed.
 
Zeeflyboy said:
From the US? I don't see it in the UK store...
Click to expand...

uk site. Still there this morning. £29.

Toothy1911 said:
Isn't the VR Cover frame not much different to the stock one? I remember seeing a youtube review on it. I think the best option is 3D printing one still?
Click to expand...

I think the frame is the same unfortunately yes. It has 2 pads though, one of which is supposed to be quite shallow. I don’t hold up much hope it making a big difference, which is why I’ve bought it from the rainforest. They might be a giant evil corporate megalith, but their service and returns policy is second to none.
 
Ah yeah, strange - wasn't showing up in any searches for me yesterday but today I see it. Odd!

VR flight sim guy seemed to rate the thin pad fairly well... again probably just depends on face shape, it won't get as close as the 3d printed ones but then some might not need to get that close!
 
Yeah VR Flight sim guy on YouTube was what alerted me to it. He seemed to rate the thin pad highly for increasing fov aye. I quite like that fella, like his enthusiasm, but I do worry he’s a bit like the Paul whitehouse character off the fast show, and everything’s just Brilliaaaant! So who knows.

Supposed to arrive later today so will report back here with findings if anyone’s interested....
 
Last edited:
Has anyone tried this before? I just tested it and could see I had virtual monitors for the HMD when plugged in. Potentially some big gains to be had, not tested it yet.

 
VRCover frame with the x2 pads for the G2 arrived this aft - first impressions very positive! V quick review/ first impressions.....

Using the shallowest pad of the 2 obviously to try and get my eyes nearer to the lenses - I've done a few basic tests and it does slightly increase the field of view as you might hope. Nothing earth shattering but it does increase. However, for me and my bonce it has definitely made an overall improvement to the look and feel of the 'view'. Hard to describe but it now looks and feels like I'm looking through a diving mask with a more 'even' looking field of view. With the default one it felt more like looking through a pair of binoculars and I could never get it feeling quite right somehow, even with setting the IPD slider. The image just felt slightly 'overlappy'.

With the VRcover one, when I set my IPD to what it is (64), it just feels right, more natural and definitely better! Also, when I set the IPD slider right down to 60 I can feel the lenses touching my nose! - this does not happen with the default one so this definitely confirms to me that things are nearer and different.


It might be placebo effect but I also dare to think that the sweetspot of focus feels slightly bigger and better too. It also feels less eye strainy (is that a word?) after use, so overall it's getting a thumbs up from me and I'm keeping it.

The plastic faceplate is the same depth from what I can see but it does have a slightly different curvature to it. This may also be helping with my overall positive impressions.

Only slight negative so far is the material of the pads - I'll be honest it's not as nice feeling on the face as the default foam one. It's a very soft upvc and I can imagine in summer it might feel a bit sweaty and 'oily'.
 
Last edited:
New WMR update should be available through windows update https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=102903


Would be nice if their patch notes were a little more specific, but this is what they note:

Compatible with Windows 10, version 1903, and newer.
  • Update the winding order of the hidden area mesh for the HP Reverb G2 to be consistent with other headsets.
  • Visuals quality improvements for the HP Reverb G2 headsets.
  • Windows Mixed Reality headset platform and reliability improvements.
 
That sounds great. I'd been thinking that the winding order of my hidden mesh looked a little inconsistent :confused:

Good that we're seeing updates for WMR though :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom