Is it time yet to invest in a VR headset?

TheRandomGuy7

TheRandomGuy7

TheRandomGuy7

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I've always wanted my own VR kit ever since I tried my mate's original Oculus many moons ago. But I vowed to hold out for a long time until the technology is much cheaper and/or much better.

Well now I have a PC truly up to the task and I'd LOVE to play the VR Half Life, but I'm wondering if it's too soon still for someone in no particular rush to have a VR headset right NOW. Of the current headsets Valve's Index appeals the most as I'd want a no-nonsense extremely high quality piece of kit.

Is the technology in a reasonable place yet? Have most of the teething problems of the first devices been ironed out yet (e.g. very common motion sickness)? Is it sensible to wait a few more years to see what developments are made or have the biggest strides already taken place?

Any opinions welcome!
 
If you want to dip your feet into VR, then the Quest 2 is the best value for money and the most versatile. A Valve Index is over three times the cost of the Quest 2, is wired and requires base stations to be mounted, so you're stuck using it in one place.

I have both the Index and the Quest 2, and the only reasons I use the Index for PC VR over the quest 2 is its larger field of view, and that it's a proper uncompressed image, compared to the Quest's compressed wifi or USB image.

The Index controllers are great, but even though they are more advanced than the Quest controllers, in practice there's not a huge difference. In fact the extra features of the Index controllers aren't very well supported, and the grip mechanic isn't often implemented well.

The PC VR market is a little stagnant right now, mainly because the cost of GPUs is a big barrier to entry, but if you've never played much VR before then there's a huge amount of decent games to play.

Most of the recent development is on Quest 2, as that has sold far, far more than any dedicated PC headset, so developers are now targeting that platform.

Either headset is worth getting though.
 
Personally in your position I too would recommend the Quest 2… the index is obviously a great bit of kit but over 2yrs old now and still at full price. This despite headsets like G2 and Q2 arriving at significantly lower price points and actually holding some advantages over the index (and of course disadvantages too).

There is no doubt to me that, whether by an index 2 or a competitor, the index will be left looking even poorer value within the next year or so…

The G2 is what I currently own, and while I’m happy with it I’m not sure I’d recommend it overall. The only exception would be to someone for whom their main play is sim based/seated VR.

The massive advantage of the Quest 2 IMO other than the sheer value is that you can play wirelessly with pretty decent quality (either by airlink or virtual desktop), and this advantage really cannot be overstated in games like half life alyx which you mention interest you.

It is also likely the quest 2 will be superseded in 2022 (or at least accompanied by a quest pro), but given the substantially lower buy in price that becomes less of a concern.

VR headsets have definitely taken a big step forward the last year or two, most notably in resolution. They have gone from being largely very pixelated in the rift/vive era to now really quite sharp (if your pc has the horsepower to run at 100%). Still lots of room for improvement overall however.

As for your other concern re motion sickness, it’s a personal issue and I don’t believe a whole lot has changed. It still holds true however that the vast majority of users that do experience it seem to be able to train themselves out of the problem by continued use. It is actually not dissimilar to a problem when you learn to fly IFR in an aeroplane, you have no exterior visual reference and have to rely on what your flight instruments are telling you while ignoring what your body is feeling as the latter can be misleading. That provokes sickness in some trainees (same root cause as VR - a disagreement between visual and vestibular senses/proprioception) but for the overwhelmingly vast majority it goes away with continued training.
 
Ravenger said:
If you want to dip your feet into VR, then the Quest 2 is the best value for money and the most versatile.
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Zeeflyboy said:
Personally in your position I too would recommend the Quest 2…
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You both agree the Quest 2 is the better choice now so I think I'd definitely look into that over the Index if buying now.

What do you mean when you both say the Index makes you 'stuck' to the base stations? Surely with any VR you have to stay in the same place? Or are you physically tethered to something with the Index whereas you can freely move around more with the Quest.

So we are on the verge of at the very least a new Index and a new Quest device in the next year. It seems like I should wait a bit longer especially since I don't have a great deal of time to play with one at the moment
 
Index uses base stations that need to be in place to track you.

Quest 2 uses inside out tracking, so the headset has cameras that track the controllers. You can setup to play anywhere there's enough room. It can be used with a pc, but also as a standalone gaming device with games installed directly onto it.
 
And on top of what he said as well as ease of setting up in a different room, you can play wireless PCVR with the quest 2 out of the box so you aren’t literally wired to your pc either.

Back with the original quest I would play most games in the man cave, but for games that could do with more space it was extremely simple to just take the headset and play in the living room. I do miss that ability with the G2 somewhat.

No one knows when/if a new index will arrive but it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see it in 2022. Quest Pro/3 in 2022 is more of a sure thing because it’s been fairly strongly suggested by the high ups at oculus and zuck himself.
 
My PC and router are in the back bedroom. Because it's warm this weekend I took my Quest 2 down to the living room and played PC games using virtual desktop. There are no base stations to worry about and no cable connected to the PC so it was as trivial as carrying it down stairs. Managed to get the bedroom up to 32.5 degrees, no way I'd have wanted to be in there with it.
 
I think you saying you want a 'no nonsense' VR setup immediately suggests you want to be going for the Quest 2. And yes the industry has definitely moved on substantially from the old days, way more affordable and much better tech! Motion sickness-wise, there is still a possibility of you suffering from it but most games have some sort of feature(s) that attempt to combat it to ease you in to the experience. It's always best imo to start with pretty simple standing or seated games to ease you in before tackling the big boys like HLA.
There are also many games by now that are very worth playing, even ones that released in 2016-2017. So yes I think everyone here is in agreement that now is a good time to jump in and specifically with the Quest 2 (unless you absolutely cannot stand Facebook!)
 
newuser said:
My PC and router are in the back bedroom. Because it's warm this weekend I took my Quest 2 down to the living room and played PC games using virtual desktop. There are no base stations to worry about and no cable connected to the PC so it was as trivial as carrying it down stairs. Managed to get the bedroom up to 32.5 degrees, no way I'd have wanted to be in there with it.
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This here is the beauty of the Quest 2, even outside the room with your PC you still don't need to settle for playing native quest games moving to a different room, game changing!
 
Not all investments have to be financial. You can invest in your future, your happiness, your health etc.

Vr can definitely help happiness and health, which can impact future!
 
You can even use the Quest 2 outside if you're careful to avoid direct sunlight. Dusk when the sun is just below trees or buildings is a good time.
Then with Quest 2 you can have a huge playspace compared to most mancaves where PC VR is setup. I played my original Quest in an empty office floor, and being able to physically walk more than a couple of steps in any direction was amazing - next level immersion.
There are roomscale games which play with the world geometry to allow you to move continuously in a large playspace without ever getting near the playspace boundaries too.
 
I use a vive pro 2 and it’s fantastic once you learn how to set it up and calibrate it properly but it can be annoying to setup the tracking cameras and it’s expensive. I would recommend to buy a cheap quest 2 and try out VR to see if you actually like it before investing in a lot of cash on the higher end kit.
 
I concur whats already been said, get a quest 2 op.
If you liked an oculus rift years ago you'll love a quest 2, it does everything better plus its wireless/standalone when necessary.
That said, i own a hp reverb g2 and a quest 2 and its the reverb i use much more often as i mainly play sims.
 
Being lucky enough to have an Index and a Quest 2, I tend to use the Index for PC VR as I can't get a good Wi-fi signal down to my living room, and I prefer the bigger FOV and sharper PC image on the Index.

Quest 2 I use for native games, especially roomscale ones, and PC games which require a lot of turning where the cable can get in the way.

If I didn't have an Index I'd be very happy using the Quest 2 for everything. (I got an Index 'cause at the time the choice was between a Rift S or an Index, and the Rift S was too big a compromise. The original Quest couldn't do PC VR at that point).
 
Thanks for the input all, there seems to unanimous suggestion in favour of the Quest 2. For all the reasons listed it does seem like the better buy right now.

Can anyone comment on the Facebook links / integration with the kit. I am indeed strongly against Facebook and Zuck so if it's extremely in-your-face when you just use the kit that could easily be enough to make me send it straight back.
 
TheRandomGuy7 said:
Thanks for the input all, there seems to unanimous suggestion in favour of the Quest 2. For all the reasons listed it does seem like the better buy right now.

Can anyone comment on the Facebook links / integration with the kit. I am indeed strongly against Facebook and Zuck so if it's extremely in-your-face when you just use the kit that could easily be enough to make me send it straight back.
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You do need a facebook account to activate it, and some folks have had their oculus accounts locked out when they used false names or details. (see youtube)
I created a facebook account using a false name jusrt to activate the headset and I haven't used the facebook account since then.
 
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