Upgrading Vive to Index

[GBRusty]

Headset is a mixed bag, blacks are worse without doubt

I really didn't see a massive difference in blacks but then I had probably not worn the Vive for a few weeks before trying the Index so the difference wasn't so stark.

 

[aoaaron]

I got an Index today from a rift s and cv 1.
its incredible. I haven't even mounted the sensors properly. Its just phenomenal.

I do get some static from both speakers tho in steamvr home. i've contacted valve, hopefully can get to the bottom of it/RMA. not ideal but im hella impressed..

u know someone's impressed when they have a potentially faulty headset and they're still hyped af.

 

[paradigm]

My Index controllers arrived in the last hour, they are incredibly comfortable, not actually gamed with them yet, but they seem great.

Slightly annoyed that I didn't spring for the headset now, oh well I'll stick with the Vive for a few months and make a decision before Alyx hits.

 

[Deks]

The index controllers are pretty special

 

[aoaaron]

The index controllers are pretty special

My Index controllers arrived in the last hour, they are incredibly comfortable, not actually gamed with them yet, but they seem great.

Slightly annoyed that I didn't spring for the headset now, oh well I'll stick with the Vive for a few months and make a decision before Alyx hits.

yes and yes.
they are so underrated.

they are absolutely incredible and a huge jump up with the previous best in class occy touch controllers.

i don't see how oculus catch up to valve now. they have too many points of inferiority to tackle:
-refresh rate
-controller input methods
-colors of LCD panels
-fov
-persistence of LCD panels
-build quality and ergonomics of headset
-tracking quality
-cable length
-sound

and then the fundmental elements of improvement which are the removal of stuff on ur ears and it being good, the removal of having to hold controllers and increased immersive fidelity via finger tracking and the increased immersion via increased presence secondary to the superior panels. 90hz on the index feels much better than 90hz on oculus due to the lower persistence. i honestly thought they were BSing.


All Valve need to do is release a wireless adaptor in the next 24 months and bang out a few games.
The headset is relatively future proofed as I don't think many of are going to be able to use this thing at 120/144hz for higher end games for a while. I also hear they can via software adjust the brightness scene by scene for games which means the panels can reach near oled pitch black if thats the case (obv no change to contrast but still a very very cool software optimisation for the illusion of deeper blacks). the colours on the index IMO are better than my Quest btw. Quest does black better, Index does everything else better. also i feel they got the steroscopic 3D just right. I feel the older headsets had probably overdone it at times.

valve's biggest weakness is really
-QA
-
availability
-customer service with faults



Oculus could destroy Valve as whatever they produce will be readily available everywhere but instead they're giving valve a 12-24 month headstart on high end VR.. and once ppl have those base stations installed in their rooms.. no one will go away from valve.


if oculus wanna hit high end VR.. idk if their plan is to try and conver £349 and £399 Rift S/Quest users to spend £600-1000 or to just keep playing at the low end. I think the Quest as a huge future, the RIft is looking bleak.

 

[Ravenger]

The Index is great (thinking of getting one myself - it's just the price putting me off!), but at the price it's unlikely it'll reach big enough numbers become mainstream.

As Index will be a fraction of the VR headsets, it's unlikely a lot of devs will make it and the index controllers their core focus. They'll always have to offer a control solutions for touch controllers and vive wands, which makes it tricky to have games which really make use of the Index controller's unique features. In one respect Oculus has the advantage here as their touch controllers are standard across all their headsets, and are good enough for the majority of uses.

Devs are seeing huge increases on sales for Oculus Quest ports over their Steam VR, Rift & PSVR versions, so it's likely that will remain the focus for a lot of VR development.

 

[ArmitageShanks]

Devs don't have to explicitly do anything to support the headset itself (unless they want to show the HMD as a 3D asset). The controllers are a different story and I suspect the majority of existing Vive owners will eventually upgrade to them. Devs would be foolish to ignore it.

 

[aoaaron]

The Index is great (thinking of getting one myself - it's just the price putting me off!), but at the price it's unlikely it'll reach big enough numbers become mainstream.

As Index will be a fraction of the VR headsets, it's unlikely a lot of devs will make it and the index controllers their core focus. They'll always have to offer a control solutions for touch controllers and vive wands, which makes it tricky to have games which really make use of the Index controller's unique features. In one respect Oculus has the advantage here as their touch controllers are standard across all their headsets, and are good enough for the majority of uses.

Devs are seeing huge increases on sales for Oculus Quest ports over their Steam VR, Rift & PSVR versions, so it's likely that will remain the focus for a lot of VR development.

I agree. 919 isa big price tag and will therefore likely not gain mainstream traction easily.

However we live in an age where people spend 1000 on their phones and 1000 on their ipads. If Oculus can tackle the culture of VR being a gimick and actually a necessity, then the acceptable price of entry for a premium experience will rise too.

However Valve's biggest issue towards mainstream appeal is not their pricing, its their reliance on an expensive gaming PC.

The Oculus Quest is no doubt the way forwards for mainstream VR. Thats VR for everyone. Its portable, easy, boot times are fast, no additional hardware required and the attachment rate is way higher. The sad byproduct of that is one of the big innovators in VR (Oculus) will no longer be innovating at a high end level. If Oculus want to chase the mainstream market and maintain an acceptable price tag, then at 399 or 499 they are really limited in regards to what they can release. They simply can't afford to release a competitior to the knuckles when the knuckles cost 280.

We saw the byproduct of this with the controller input parity between the Rift S and the Quest. The Touch controllers make PERFECT sense for the Quest. Great, ergonomic, cheap but durable for portable transport and no reliance on rechargable batteries. However for direct PCVR use, they just scream a lack of effort when it comes to the Rift S and could have been much more.

The only way I see for Oculus to succeed TBH is to split ways from the Rift product line or continue to outsource it. The quest is the better device. It is the Valve Index of Portable VR. It's amazing. It feels good, its build quality is good, its compromises are understandable, it will have finger tracking for portable use without the controllers. And finally it can still act as a PCVR headset.

The sad byproduct of this is will Oculus keep funding PCVR game development or just concentrate on Quest games and port over to PC? I haven't been blown away my Oculus's exclusive titles when I compare them to the equivalent Sony/Nintendo/MS exclusives and its sadly dreadfully obvious they're new to the gaming development business. I have no doubt for example in my mind that Half Life Alyx will blow away any Oculus exclusive title. But at the same time, one less high end PCVR developers for high end users will be very upsetting.



.................

I'd prefer for Oculus to release two products

1. Quest 399/499
2. Quest S 699/799

Quest is just your budget friendly Quest.
Quest S is a simply better Quest geared towards PCVR use.
And both use Oculus Link V2.0


I don't see a future for the Rift product line aslong as there exists an Oculus headset which does what it does AND offers a portable tether-less experience.