Did you try a VR headset before you bought one?

The One Doctor

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone got to use a VR headset before they bought one? I've looking to buy a PC and Valve Index to play flight sims and frankly it's a fair whack of cash to get a good PC and headset. I'm worried that I might get motion sick and never be able to use the feckin' thing!

So does anyone know where I could try out a VR headset? I'm in North Dublin.

mrcheez

The One Doctor wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone got to use a VR headset before they bought one? I've looking to buy a PC and Valve Index to play flight sims and frankly it's a fair whack of cash to get a good PC and headset. I'm worried that I might get motion sick and never be able to use the feckin' thing!

So does anyone know where I could try out a VR headset? I'm in North Dublin.

yeah I tested it out before buying, but literally 2 minutes in I knew I wanted it.

The dream of re-enacting Lawnmower Man was too great.

For me, I tried out a demo of PSVR in Gamestop and ordered one the next day.


Perhaps see if you can get into one of those VR arcades?

https://www.google.com/search?q=vr+arcades

Atomic Pineapple

It was an impulse purchase during a very good sale for me. Had only ever tried the Google cardboard before which is actually off putting it is so poor. I knew that if I didn't the like the PSVR, I could sell it out without too much of a loss. If I was investing in some of the more expensive offerings I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger.

NIMAN

No, bought it blind and wasn't disappointed.

It doesn't get much use to be honest, but thats only because I ain't a gamer but sometimes my kids use it, even though I am careful about how much time they spend on it.

ShamrockAir

Used a rift dk1 for about 2 mins. Then bought a gear VR, then oculus rift and now the quest.

McDermotX

Blind here...

Vive on launch.....went mad with that at first, but gradually stopped using due to room setup changes.

PSVR on launch.....impressed with some titles, but a very uncomfortable device for me, as I need to wear glasses all the time with this.

Quest on launch.....enjoy the freedom, but limit myself to 30-40min sessions every now and then, which for me, is probably the sweet spot with VR.

Rift S....sort of as a replacement for the Vive above as I felt the somewhat sideways move would balance out with the reduced room requirements, but only use of every now and then TBH.


Other than the initial wow factor of the Vive on launch and subsequent months, probably the Quest has offered the 'best' experience, even with its limitations.
Probably won't venture into the PC dedicated platform again until there is proper advancement in the tech, or it becomes more 'immediate' in its usage.

mrcheez

Rift S has pretty limited FOV from what I've heard? Is it noticeably smaller than the Quest?

McDermotX

Hard to say really, as I do have to use clip-on prescription lens on both devices......so with the increased distance from eye to lens, I sometimes think glass wearers are not best placed to definitively say one way or the other. The suspicion that the Rift S FOV is somewhat compromised by that distance and if the user has a high IPD might have some merit as there are times when the Quest feels a bit fuller in that regard, but that can be almost a placebo effect of not being tethered and free to whip your head around etc. Ultimately a properly adjustable IPD setting, like the Quest has as opposed to the software setting of the Rift, might have the biggest say.

I think the likes of Elite Dangerous are great for having a real end user impression of FOV, but I've not had the chance to try it in a form on the Quest, but it always felt pretty good on the Rift S to me.

No, splashed out and got a psvr and love it

Calibos

If its purely for Sims and you have a good Graphics card then a HP Reverb might be the one to go for. Just got one in the Black Friday sales and the clarity and resolution is phenomenal and a large jump even over the Index. Its the Simmers HMD of choice at the moment. Search your regular Sim forums and search HP Reverb and see what the consensus is.

theboringfox

Yes. I tried an oculus go last year and loved it. Waited for oculus quest. Delighted I waited for it and great purchase. Mind blown by oculus quest. Only a recent purchase so still only scratched surface.

Star Lord

Tried my mates v1 PSVR, primarily SuperHot VR, and was pretty much instantly sold on it.
Got my own after the v2 came out, with VR Worlds, and bought SuperHot VR as soon as I got it set up!

o1s1n

Ordered a DK1 Rift back on the Kickstarter. Always been really into the concept of VR after sega toyed with the idea in the 90s. Was completely blown away upon trying it.

Didn't get a free rift like other DK1 backers as I ordered it in January and the cut off was the December. Was absolutely gutted.

Haven't bought any more VR gear since!

I did recently try the latest rift in a mates house with a beefy PC and was blown away again. With the imminent release of Alyx I may need to invest.

mrcheez

o1s1n wrote: »

Didn't get a free rift like other DK1 backers as I ordered it in January and the cut off was the December. Was absolutely gutted.

hmm Oculus Support would normally honour anything like that, did you take it up with them?

o1s1n

mrcheez wrote: »

hmm Oculus Support would normally honour anything like that, did you take it up with them?

I did yeah. They had to have a cut off at some point unfortunately, which is understandable. I just lost out by a month by ordering in January rather than December. I think I was at the very start of the second batch of DK1 models. (and only those who ordered in the first batch got a free retail rift)

alchemist33

A friend brought his Quest to work. After 2 mins I knew what Santa was bringing this Christmas. I had an idea of a VR-something previously but no idea what until I used this.

mrcheez

alchemist33 wrote: »

A friend brought his Quest to work. After 2 mins I knew what Santa was bringing this Christmas. I had an idea of a VR-something previously but no idea what until I used this.

I think that nails it exactly. It's impossible to "describe exactly" what VR is like or how it feels.

It's really something you need to try.

Facebook really should invest in more demo stations.

Samuel T. Cogley

Not sure of the state of VR flight sims at the moment. DCS used to be excellent, X-plane's implementation didn't really work. Any reason you're going for the index? Isn't that like a grand?

Edit: My suggestion would be a secondhand Oculus Rift, you should be able to get one for €250 and sell it on for about €200 easily enough. A gaming PC is never a waste IMHO :pac: but if you're not into games - again that sort of thing sells on fairly well.

To answer your OP I bought a DK2 kept it for a few days and sold it on waiting for the CV1, sold that eventually but bought one again with the touch controllers which I still have and keep coming back to now and again.

Doge

I tried a Rift DK2 in a VR arcade in Cork that is long gone now.
I also went to the PSVR preview event in Dublin and I was sold after that.

Anyone else go to that event in Dublin?

I had the chance to try what i think was a Virtuality headset in Alton Towers near Birmingham back im the 90s but it was almost 10 pounds at the time, for a minute or 2 gameplay and a friend who tried it said it was very difficult to aim so i left it off.

The One Doctor

Bought the Reverb in the end and built a PC for it, 8700k 2070 Super 16GB RAM. Works great!

Samuel T. Cogley

The One Doctor wrote: »

Bought the Reverb in the end and built a PC for it, 8700k 2070 Super 16GB RAM. Works great!

Reverb is meant to be the dogs bollix for sitting sims, really good resolution.

The One Doctor

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Reverb is meant to be the dogs bollix for sitting sims, really good resolution.

Oh it is. Just finished a stint on IL2 BOS and it's phenomenal. Makes flying using a monitor a joke.

FPS is locked at 60 so very comfortable. Will get prescription lenses though.

.G.

The One Doctor wrote: »

Bought the Reverb in the end and built a PC for it, 8700k 2070 Super 16GB RAM. Works great!

Where did you buy it from? I'm looking for a hefty visual upgrade from my CV1 for my sims.

The One Doctor

.G. wrote: »

Where did you buy it from? I'm looking for a hefty visual upgrade from my CV1 for my sims.

Amazon UK. Make sure you also have a hefty PC to run it.

Calibos

The One Doctor wrote: »

Oh it is. Just finished a stint on IL2 BOS and it's phenomenal. Makes flying using a monitor a joke.

FPS is locked at 60 so very comfortable. Will get prescription lenses though.

Do you mean you switched the Reverb to 60hz mode or that IL2 BOS runs at 60fps?

I have been too busy the last couple months to use mine much but did try out 60hz mode. Initially in Cliffhouse I was like, 'Oh, Oh' because the 60hz flicker was intense, and I thought I wouldn't be able to use this lower refresh rate. Turns out though, that was just in Cliffhouse with the bright flat surfaces being a worst case scenario for flicker visibility. When I loaded up Elite Dangerous however, there was no flicker to be seen at all.

Turns out though, that Microsoft have up till now coupled the 60hz rate with dynamic undersampling/downscaling resolution, meaning that if one used the 60hz mode one was also compromising ones resolution. They've decoupled it in the latest 'Insider' builds and the change will be in the next consumer update in March. Meaning from then on, those of us who can tolerate 60hz without seeing or being bothered by flicker get to still maintain that 2160x2160 per eye (4320x2160) clarity without compromise but reduce GPU performance requirements by 33%!! ie. In my case meaning my current GTX1080 performs about the same at 60hz as an RTX2080S would at 90hz. I'm not going through the hassle and potential compatibility problems switching to the Insider build for this so will till March till the update hits consumer builds, but it means I'll have a good experience in my Sims (Free-time permitting) while I wait till mid Summer for the release of the Intel 10 series CPU's and nVidia 3000 series GPU's and contrast and compare them to the equivalent AMD stuff before deciding which teams I pick for my next complete PC build.

mrcheez

Reverb?


EDIT: Ah the HP Reverb... never heard of it, which is funny as I think of myself as being up to speed on most everything VR these days!

I wonder how it compares to the Index, I'm considering picking up an Index this year.

The One Doctor

Calibos wrote: »

Do you mean you switched the Reverb to 60hz mode or that IL2 BOS runs at 60fps?

I have been too busy the last couple months to use mine much but did try out 60hz mode. Initially in Cliffhouse I was like, 'Oh, Oh' because the 60hz flicker was intense, and I thought I wouldn't be able to use this lower refresh rate. Turns out though, that was just in Cliffhouse with the bright flat surfaces being a worst case scenario for flicker visibility. When I loaded up Elite Dangerous however, there was no flicker to be seen at all.

Turns out though, that Microsoft have up till now coupled the 60hz rate with dynamic undersampling/downscaling resolution, meaning that if one used the 60hz mode one was also compromising ones resolution. They've decoupled it in the latest 'Insider' builds and the change will be in the next consumer update in March. Meaning from then on, those of us who can tolerate 60hz without seeing or being bothered by flicker get to still maintain that 2160x2160 per eye (4320x2160) clarity without compromise but reduce GPU performance requirements by 33%!! ie. In my case meaning my current GTX1080 performs about the same at 60hz as an RTX2080S would at 90hz. I'm not going through the hassle and potential compatibility problems switching to the Insider build for this so will till March till the update hits consumer builds, but it means I'll have a good experience in my Sims (Free-time permitting) while I wait till mid Summer for the release of the Intel 10 series CPU's and nVidia 3000 series GPU's and contrast and compare them to the equivalent AMD stuff before deciding which teams I pick for my next complete PC build.

I locked the Reverb to 60 because it's fine for me with most setting maxed out on IL2. On 90 mode I'm getting about 80 FPS with the same settings. Steam VR let's me set native Res with 60hz unless I'm missing something.

I was originally set on the Index but was put off because of the price. The Reverb is really a headset for sitting down only as the cable is very heavy and annoying for stand up play unless you hook it to the ceiling. Tracking has been great for me but again I only use tracking in the Cliffhouse.

Anyone tried the Reverb in DCS?

.G.

The One Doctor wrote: »

Amazon UK. Make sure you also have a hefty PC to run it.

i7 6700k and a 2080ti:)

Reverb looks good, bit pricey though. Might wait a while. Would love an Index but the costs for that with base stations etc are ridiculous.

ByeByeGTI2020

Sounds good