I'm considering VR

Nocturne_sa · 2 Sep 2017 at 12:34

Sorry to hijack the thread but has anyone tried the Rift whilst wearing glasses? On the fence and want to buy this before the discount ends of Monday but have heard conflicting reports re the headset not being comfortable with glasses.

Wrinkly · 2 Sep 2017 at 12:49

Nocturne_sa said:
Sorry to hijack the thread but has anyone tried the Rift whilst wearing glasses? On the fence and want to buy this before the discount ends of Monday but have heard conflicting reports re the headset not being comfortable with glasses.

Yes. It depends on the size of your glasses. I can recommend VRCovers for comfort and easy maintenance which also have an option for glasses.

You can also purchase prescription lenses that clip into the headsets.

FlukeRogi · 2 Sep 2017 at 12:52

Nocturne_sa said:
Sorry to hijack the thread but has anyone tried the Rift whilst wearing glasses? On the fence and want to buy this before the discount ends of Monday but have heard conflicting reports re the headset not being comfortable with glasses.

Can be done, but if you have very wide frames then you'll struggle. I wore glasses with mine for ages, though I did buy a narrower cheap pair off the net as my normal glasses struggled to fit. However, I use prescription lens inserts now which just makes the whole thing way more comfortable than wearing glasses (seriously, it's a drastic difference). Look into WidmoVR or Lens Labs if you feel the need to go down that route.

Dirk Diggler · 2 Sep 2017 at 12:54

Does anyone know the terms of the promotion i.e. is last chance to purchase at that price going to be tomorrow night, or will it be Monday midday like This Week Only deals expire on Wednesday midday?

I know people are saying go for it, but I wouldn't have started the thread if I wasn't already on the fence. I do appreciate the comments here, and it is helpful. I just hate time limited decisions!

FlukeRogi · 2 Sep 2017 at 12:59

String said:
Does anyone know the terms of the promotion i.e. is last chance to purchase at that price going to be tomorrow night, or will it be Monday midday like This Week Only deals expire on Wednesday midday?

I know people are saying go for it, but I wouldn't have started the thread if I wasn't already on the fence. I do appreciate the comments here, and it is helpful. I just hate time limited decisions!

It'll be Monday. Oculus end their promotion with retailers on that date specifically. If you're going to order it, I'd say do it by the end of Sunday, as we have no indication of what time on Monday the deal will end.

Rob Turbo · 2 Sep 2017 at 13:40

I say go for it too, I had to upgrade my GPU at the same time which more than doubled the cost and I'm still happy with my purchase, it's not like I would have upgraded my GPU without needing to for VR either, I wouldn't call myself a serious gamer, my old GTX 660 was more than enough for my needs previously, now I can't keep off it! Robo Recall is loads of fun, the only thing I've bought from the Oculus store is Virtual Desktop, everything else has been either bundled with the rift and touch or was free, apart from Alien: Isolation (Humble Bundle) and Doom 3 BFG (already owned), there's loads of stuff I want to try but I'm holding off until I have more space, I have plenty to keep me busy until then. I spent most of the morning in Virtual Desktop, sitting in space while browsing and watching youtube, only coming out to type.

I have no issues with the resolution or anything else, there will need to be some seriously awesome features for me to consider an upgrade from the rift in the future, I see no need in an upgrade if it's just higher resolution or lighter/smaller etc. I do get god rays occasionally and text can be blurry if it's too far away, they are the only "problems" I have with it and they don't really bother me, even using 2 sensors, mounted far from ideally, 1m apart, one either side of my monitor, one on the desk, the other on top of the PC tower, the tracking is great, not perfect, there's a small dead space if I turn away with my hand(s) close in front of me, and another on the floor in front of my desk, I expect that to be sorted once I get it moved into it's new space and set up with the sensors positioned diagonally opposite each other.

Uncle Petey · 2 Sep 2017 at 13:45

String, what reservations are holding you back, aside from it being a bit of a rush?

mid_gen · 2 Sep 2017 at 14:23

DrBombcrater said:
New headsets all seem to be focussed on the lower end of the market, giving a much more restricted experience than the Rift but costing less.

How so?

The new windows Mixed Reality headsets coming out next month from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus are better on paper.

Less cables, no cameras/lighthouses to setup, higher res, AR capable with built in cameras, decent motion controllers, SteamVR support.

Serious question, how are they more restrictive than the Rift?

Wrinkly · 2 Sep 2017 at 14:56

mid_gen said:
The new windows Mixed Reality headsets coming out next month from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus are better on paper.

Less cables, no cameras/lighthouses to setup, higher res, AR capable with built in cameras, decent motion controllers, SteamVR support.

What controllers do they support?

Playing with the idea of using a sensor under the desk (dirty minds) and a 3rd Touch controller (set as a VR object) strapped to my foot to act as virtual pedals for flight sims. Would the newer headsets that you have mentioned be able to handle that?

Just another thought. Some of the most recent games need a 1080Ti to maintain 60fps @1440p. What monster cards will you need to drive these higher resolution headsets @ 90Hz as the Rift / Vive operate at.

mid_gen · 2 Sep 2017 at 15:14

They all have pretty similar looking touch controllers that look a lot like the Rift controllers. I would guess that functionally these new headset/controllers are little different to the Rift, just slightly higher res, less cables to plug in, and built in cameras for mixed reality stuff.

These new systems rely on a combination of the accelerometers/gyros in the touch controllers and the cameras in the headset...the idea being that the tracking is as good as Rift/Vive when the controllers are roughly in front of you, but a bit less accurate when they're towards your peripheral vision. Tradeoff being you just have one HDMI and one USB to connect the whole lot up, no cameras/lighthouses and stands required.

Reviews should be forthcoming soon on how good the tracking and ergonomics of the different headsets are. Assuming they don't all suck (unlikely), I can't see the Vive and Rift being able to charge a premium for long, and we'll see HMDs settle at 300-350 and 400-450 with the controllers.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/31/16219544/lenovo-explorer-windows-mixed-reality-vr-headset

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/28/...xed-reality-headset-pricing-release-announced

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/08/asus-windows-mixed-reality-headset/?comments=1&post=33895093

Wrinkly · 2 Sep 2017 at 15:18

mid_gen said:
The new windows Mixed Reality headsets coming out next month from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus are better on paper.

Less cables, no cameras/lighthouses to setup, higher res, AR capable with built in cameras, decent motion controllers, SteamVR support.

What controllers do they support?

Playing with the idea of using a sensor under the desk (dirty minds) and a 3rd Touch controller (set as a VR object) strapped to my foot to act as virtual pedals for flight sims. Would the newer headsets that you have mentioned be able to handle that?

Just another thought. Some of the most recent games need a 1080Ti to maintain 60fps @1440p. What monster cards will you need to drive these higher resolution headsets @ 90Hz as the Rift / Vive operate at.

Answering my own question by watching YouTube on the new headsets. They require to be able to see the controllers to position them so no reaching over your shoulder to pull out a shotgun in Robo Recall or even reaching round behind to shoot that pesky robot sneaking up on you is impossible. That is a major failing if true. Not to mention no joys of vibrating controllers under the desk! Pricing will be ~$350 for the headset and ~$100 for the controllers so no great savings to be had.

Just another thought. You won't be able to reach out and flip switches in a virtual cockpit with these headsets while looking out of the canopy when playing sims. A good example of what you can't do would be VTOL VR on steam which employs a full virtual cockpit including a virtual joystick.

You won't even be able to serve a tennis ball with these new headsets. Anything above the head is a no no.

GET THE RIFT NOW!!!

mid_gen · 2 Sep 2017 at 15:29

The resolution isn't hugely higher, 1440x1440 per eye...not sure what the actual render target is though.

Yeah the movement tracking only works when the controllers are visible to the headset, although rotation still works. Not a huge deal as long as developers consider it.

We should be getting some in at work so I can give em a try soon.

mid_gen · 2 Sep 2017 at 16:08

Wrinkly said:
What controllers do they support?

Playing with the idea of using a sensor under the desk (dirty minds) and a 3rd Touch controller (set as a VR object) strapped to my foot to act as virtual pedals for flight sims. Would the newer headsets that you have mentioned be able to handle that?

Just another thought. Some of the most recent games need a 1080Ti to maintain 60fps @1440p. What monster cards will you need to drive these higher resolution headsets @ 90Hz as the Rift / Vive operate at.

Answering my own question by watching YouTube on the new headsets. They require to be able to see the controllers to position them so no reaching over your shoulder to pull out a shotgun in Robo Recall or even reaching round behind to shoot that pesky robot sneaking up on you is impossible. That is a major failing if true. Not to mention no joys of vibrating controllers under the desk! Pricing will be ~$350 for the headset and ~$100 for the controllers so no great savings to be had.

Just another thought. You won't be able to reach out and flip switches in a virtual cockpit with these headsets while looking out of the canopy when playing sims. A good example of what you can't do would be VTOL VR on steam which employs a full virtual cockpit including a virtual joystick.

You won't even be able to serve a tennis ball with these new headsets. Anything above the head is a no no.

GET THE RIFT NOW!!!

Curious why you would mess about with extra trackers and motion controls for flight simming? Just get some real pedals, much better!

Virtual joystick would work fine as the rotational tracking works regardless of HMD direction. Not sure how you would manage flipping virtual switches without looking at them?

Not saying do or don't get a Rift, just curious.

For me the no cameras is a huge boon as one of the main uses my VR kit would get is demoing VR stuff at my dev meetups. Right now we lug a Vive + lighthouses + stands and it's just a total ballache!

melmac · 2 Sep 2017 at 16:19

mid_gen said:
Waiting to see what these new headsets coming out in October are like. The lack of cameras/lighthouses is a reall appeal, along with the price obviously.

String said:
I'm comfortable with the £399 price, I'm more concerned about the chances of the kit I do buy getting superseded within 6 months? Is that likely to happen?

There aren't going to be any headsets better than the Vive or Rift for at least a year.

You could be playing Robo Recall Tuesday. Stop worrying about what might come out in 6 months and start enjoying VR now.

Wrinkly · 2 Sep 2017 at 16:34

mid_gen said:
Curious why you would mess about with extra trackers and motion controls for flight simming? Just get some real pedals, much better!

Virtual joystick would work fine as the rotational tracking works regardless of HMD direction. Not sure how you would manage flipping virtual switches without looking at them?

Not saying do or don't get a Rift, just curious.

For me the no cameras is a huge boon as one of the main uses my VR kit would get is demoing VR stuff at my dev meetups. Right now we lug a Vive + lighthouses + stands and it's just a total ballache!

I am wondering how well a VR object on the foot could be tracked to provide decent locomotion. Seems like the best use of VR objects if possible.

The virtual joystick in VTOL would not work if you are looking out of the canopy. You would have to be looking at the joystick for the headset to track the controllers when you made the grab. This is not a issue with the Rift / Vive as the controllers are fully tracked. Same thing with the rest of the cockpit controls.

Warthog + MFG Crosswind are on my wishlist when I get back into flight sims. Virtual controls though are a different experience. I think a few people would chose a free plugin for virtual rudder control vs £250 MFG Crosswinds?

These new headsets look like a poor mans choice at an inflated cost due to the restricted controller tracking.

mid_gen · 2 Sep 2017 at 16:52

It's great that we have more choice and competition in the market.

Single cable solution with no cameras or lighthouses is a massive plus for me, limited peripheral tracking is a trade-off I'm willing to accept.

Wrinkly · 2 Sep 2017 at 16:57

mid_gen said:
It's great that we have more choice and competition in the market.

Single cable solution with no cameras or lighthouses is a massive plus for me, limited peripheral tracking is a trade-off I'm willing to accept.

As long as people realise they can't serve a tennis ball and can't pull off some of these GOD LIKE moments in shooters amongst other things, these new headsets are cheap and cheerful. Well cheerful anyway.

mid_gen · 2 Sep 2017 at 17:08

Would take me about 15 minutes to get those actions working just fine with inside out tracking, not a big technical challenge.

But ok whatever. Rift rules.

Wrinkly · 2 Sep 2017 at 19:17

mid_gen said:
Would take me about 15 minutes to get those actions working just fine with inside out tracking, not a big technical challenge.

But ok whatever. Rift rules.

You can't make it work. The new headsets require line of sight to the controllers to know where the controllers are. They have Rift type front facing sensors built into the headset.

So while you are spending your 15mins making that work I think I will spend my 15 minutes building a new extension with indoor swimming pool to my home

Dirk Diggler · 2 Sep 2017 at 19:45

Uncle Petey said:
String, what reservations are holding you back, aside from it being a bit of a rush?

I think I'm just concerned that it'll lie on the desk and gather dust. I also fly out on holiday next weekend so the timing is a bit iffy... I may not get the chance to test properly until it's too late for a refund when the 14 days will have elapsed.