Virtual reality headsets for a beginner

[irishbeast]

Hope this is not in the wrong section. 

 

I have heard a few people saying how great VR is and I am really curious. My last experience of it was many years ago using expensive smartphones to generate what was a really crappy experience so didn't really see what the fuss is about. 

 

Does anyone on here use VR a lot? Particularly would like to hear from people who enjoy it as I just don't quite get it but am always looking for news toys and gadgets. 

 

What games do you play? What hardware have you got etc. Are there any child friendly titles which I could get kids involved as most of the games I play involved mutating other people/creatures which for small children might be a little traumatising. 

 

VR seems like a bit of a love hate thing from what I have seen/read

Advice/experiences would be very welcome.

 

Thanks! 

[DoctorNick]

You got the PC for it? if not, then wait. I wouldn't pay the price for VR atm, still too expensive for what it is imo. Can't speak for others of course.

[tikker]

I wouldn't call it completely dead, but VR has become a bit of a desert. It's very cool and I have my Vive since it first came out, but there just aren't that many blockbuster games for it. In my eyes it's stuck in a vicious cycle. Nobody really wants to risk it, which leads to hardly and big games, which leads to nobody wanting to risk it etc.

 

The other factor is that proper VR is still expensive for people to buy relative to what you get. It costs you hundreds of dollars to a thousand or more for the top of the line ones to get just the headset. Then you also need a good gaming PC to drive it properly. I'm running my Vive with a 7700k and a 1080 Ti which does alright, sometimes falls a little bit short. So, think like 3060/70 level GPU and a modern i5 equivalent or something.

 

There are definitely great games. For example, Half Life Alyx (action/FPS), Beat Saber (music/sports?), Superhot VR (action/shooter, awesome slow-mo gameplay), The Room (thriller/psycological horror), and The Gallery series to name a few that I enjoyed. Then you have a handful of decent escape room games, horror games and experiences. VR kind of had these phases. First it was all "experiences" that just dumped you in a world, some interactive, some not. Then came the wave shooters which varied in theme, but once you've seen one you've seen them all and then came the perpetual "tech demos" and "early access" games that simply died out. Finally here and there a few good games popped up and recently Valve gave us a how-it's-done with Half Life Alyx, but nothing really anymore since.

 

It's very cool, I still love it, but the cost/benefit ratio is extremely low in the end. If I fire it up it's to play some Beat Saber, but it's a few times per week tops in my most VR-active times, after which I go back to normal gaming again for a while.

[Chris Pratt]

The problem with VR is that it has a pretty steep cost for entry and it's still nascent enough that the experiences available are either not very good or small in number. There's developers doing interesting things in the space, but it's still very much trying to find its legs.

 

If you just want to get your feet wet (and you can stomach Facebook), the Oculus Quest 2 is a very compelling device. It only costs $200-300, depending on the onboard storage, and you can use it without a connected PC. However, it also lets you do VR with a PC, if you have one capable of VR. This lets you try it out, relatively low risk, move on to trying some PC gaming VR, when your ready, and then if you find it to be something you actually enjoy, then you can go all out and invest in something like Valve Index, which is pretty indisputably the best VR equipment available (with the cost to match).

[irishbeast]

Thanks all   -Mixed bag of responses but useful.

 

Yes I believe my PC should be fine for VR, maybe not brilliant. Have a ryzen 3600, RTX 3070 8gb, 16 gig ram etc which should be enough I think . If not then forget VR. Its been the "next big thing" for about 10 years now but never really seems to hit the mainstream which confuses me a little. Maybe people dont want to play games with an out of shape bike helmet on their head!

[Biohazard777]

4 hours ago, irishbeast said:

Hope this is not in the wrong section. 

 

I have heard a few people saying how great VR is and I am really curious. My last experience of it was many years ago using expensive smartphones to generate what was a really crappy experience so didn't really see what the fuss is about. 

 

Does anyone on here use VR a lot? Particularly would like to hear from people who enjoy it as I just don't quite get it but am always looking for news toys and gadgets. 

 

What games do you play? What hardware have you got etc. Are there any child friendly titles which I could get kids involved as most of the games I play involved mutating other people/creatures which for small children might be a little traumatising. 

 

VR seems like a bit of a love hate thing from what I have seen/read

Advice/experiences would be very welcome.

 

Thanks! 

I use one and I can't recommend it enough, seriously I can't put the feelings into words, you just have to try it for yourself.
VR has come a long way from plastic/carboard phone holders with shitty lenses it used to be.

 

Even though it has some cons my recommendation is to get the Oculus Quest 2 for your 1st VR device.
Pros:
- Heavily subsided by Facebook, bringing the cost of the unit down to 300$  for the 64GB model. IMHO you don't need more storage, it will easily store ~30 games.
- It is an All-In-One running Android, so you don't need a beefy computer to go along with it, but if you want to you can hook it up to a computer (both wired and wireless).

- Has a pretty decent games catalogue, definitely the most supported VR headset by game developers.
- Again running Android so you can fiddle with it using SideQuest: side-load apps, mod existing ones etc.

- Super easy to setup, you don't need to mount motion trackers on your walls, you just pick up the controllers and paint a guardian wall using AR and you are set to go (the guardian will also be saved if you happen to play in the same room next time). The tracking of the controllers is pretty good IMHO, keep in mind that cameras are used for that purpose so turn on the lights / open up curtains while you play.

- Excellent displays and lenses [1], leagues ahead of any of the old phone in holder solutions.

- Included speakers are pretty good, didn't even think about connecting my headphones.

Cons:
- Requires a Facebook account, some future games will contain in-game ads. I personally don't care about the FB account part, just used a fresh account (0 friends on it) and it works. The ads though, we shall see... but I doubt it will be as bad as mobile gaming on Android (since most of the games are not free, for now).
- Battery lasts 2-3 hours. For one person use I say that is plenty, since you are physically active in most games you won't do longer sessions anyway... but if you have friends over or you play with your kids it could be an issue. That being said you can always plug it in while playing. Or if you don't like being tethered you can use a power bank attached to the back of the head strap. IMHO this works really well because the power bank I use isn't that heavy and that little weight it has actually makes the head strap more balanced (less front-heavy).

- Lenses are fragile, be very careful when cleaning them or using them with glasses (always use the included spacer if using glasses, when cleaning use a microfiber cloth).
- The included foam face mask does a nice job for cushioning but is horrible when it comes hygiene, it is a sweat inducing sponge, yuck. I recommend buying a silicone or PU leather from a 3rd party, they are easy to take off on wipe clean. 
- Do not buy the elite strap, the price is unreasonably high and reports from users say that they break easily. I personally find the included standard strap just fine, but depending on the shape / size of your head you might come to a different conclusion, in which case look for 3rd party head straps.

- [1] Bad quality control, since FB is using such aggressive pricing this was to be expected. Make sure you buy from a retailer that accepts returns and when the device arrives thoroughly inspect it (like dead pixels, controller drift, blurry lenses etc,).

 

As for game recommendations, here is what I currently have installed (marking child friendly games with *) :
Bait! *
Beat Saber *
Blaston

Enhance *
Eleven table tennis *
End Space
Hyper Dash
In Death
Mini Motor Racing X *
Rocket Fury Table Tennis *
Real VR Fishing *
Superhot VR
The Climb
The Thrill Of The Fight
The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners
Until You Fall

QubeFall *
Walkabout Mini Golf *
Warhammer 40k Battle Sister

 

 

[irishbeast]

31 minutes ago, Biohazard777 said:

I use one and I can't recommend it enough, seriously I can't put the feelings into words, you just have to try it for yourself.
VR has come a long way from plastic/carboard phone holders with shitty lenses it used to be.

 

Even though it has some cons my recommendation is to get the Oculus Quest 2 for your 1st VR device.
Pros:
- Heavily subsided by Facebook, bringing the cost of the unit down to 300$  for the 64GB model. IMHO you don't need more storage, it will easily store ~30 games.
- It is an All-In-One running Android, so you don't need a beefy computer to go along with it, but if you want to you can hook it up to a computer (both wired and wireless).

- Has a pretty decent games catalogue, definitely the most supported VR headset by game developers.
- Again running Android so you can fiddle with it using SideQuest: side-load apps, mod existing ones etc.

- Super easy to setup, you don't need to mount motion trackers on your walls, you just pick up the controllers and paint a guardian wall using AR and you are set to go (the guardian will also be saved if you happen to play in the same room next time). The tracking of the controllers is pretty good IMHO, keep in mind that cameras are used for that purpose so turn on the lights / open up curtains while you play.

- Excellent displays and lenses [1], leagues ahead of any of the old phone in holder solutions.

- Included speakers are pretty good, didn't even thing about connecting my headphones.

Cons:
- Requires a Facebook account, some future games will contain in-game ads. I personally don't care about the FB account part, just used a fresh account (0 friends on it) and it works. The ads though, we shall see... but I doubt it will be as bad as mobile gaming on Android (since most of the games are not free, for now).
- Battery lasts 2-3 hours. For one person use I say that is plenty, since you are physically active in most games you won't do longer sessions anyway... but if you have friends over or you play with your kids it could be an issue. That being said you can always plug it in while playing. Or if you don't like being tethered you can use a power bank attached to the back of the head strap. IMHO this works really because the power bank I use isn't that heavy and that little weight it has actually makes the head strap more balanced (no longer front-heavy).

- Lenses are fragile, be very careful when cleaning them or using them with glasses (always use the included spacer if using glasses, when cleaning use a microfiber cloth).
- The included foam face mask does a nice job for cushioning but is horrible when it comes hygiene, it is a sweat inducing sponge, yuck. I recommend buying a silicone or PU leather from a 3rd party, they are easy to take off on wipe clean. 
- Do not buy the elite strap, the price is unreasonably high and reports from users say that they break easily. I personally find the included standard strap just fine, but depending on the shape / size of your head you might come to a different conclusion, in which case look for 3rd party head straps.

- [1] Bad quality control, since FB is using such aggressive pricing this was to be expected. Make sure you buy from a retailer that accepts returns and when the device arrives thoroughly inspect it (like dead pixels, controller drift, blurry lenses etc,).

 

As for game recommendations, here is what I currently have installed (marking child friendly games with *) :
Bait! *
Beat Saber *
Blaston

Enhance *
Eleven table tennis *
End Space
Hyper Dash
In Death
Mini Motor Racing X *
Rocket Fury Table Tennis *
Real VR Fishing *
Superhot VR
The Climb
The Thrill Of The Fight
The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners
Until You Fall

QubeFall *
Walkabout Mini Golf *
Warhammer 40k Battle Sister

 

 

Brilliant response - Thanks

[tikker]

2 hours ago, irishbeast said:

Maybe people dont want to play games with an out of shape bike helmet on their head!

I don't think this is the main issue personally. You forget about the headset and controllers pretty much immediately once you are in. It's more that it's super expensive and setup isn't without effort either. A PC or console you just turn on and you're good to go. VR you need to grab your gear, maybe clear out some furniture so you have the space, recalibrate if necessary and then you can go. In the case of wired headsets you'll have the wire that you ocassionally notice or run into and with wireless ones you can only enjoy a few hours before needing a charge again. If I can believe the internet about the Quest 2 only managing 2-3 hours then that's a big shame.

2 hours ago, Biohazard777 said:

I personally don't care about the FB account part, just used a fresh account (0 friends on it) and it works.

A word of caution though. This may have changed, but from what I remember creating a new account (don't know if you did or not) just for the Quest is against terms of service and can  leave you dealing with bans and losing your games because of it since everything is tied to the account if I remember right.

[Biohazard777]

2 hours ago, tikker said:

A word of caution though. This may have changed, but from what I remember creating a new account (don't know if you did or not) just for the Quest is against terms of service and can  leave you dealing with bans and losing your games because of it since everything is tied to the account if I remember right.

Fair warning, It is still under FB ToS (only 1 personal account is allowed):

Though that being said, I've had multiple fake FB accounts for years, this one being the latest:

Hah, anyhow I doubt FB would actually act upon their ToS, especially since they get a cut from each purchase on the Oculus store and even though the account maybe fake it can still be used to shovel ads your way.

[tikker]

17 minutes ago, Biohazard777 said:

Fair warning, It is still under FB ToS (only 1 personal account is allowed):

Unless I misunderstand you, "only 1 personal account is allowed" means you are not allowed to create a separate account for the quest. I wasn't referring to an account just for the quest, but creating one in addition to one you already have

21 minutes ago, Biohazard777 said:

Hah, anyhow I doubt FB would actually act upon their ToS, especially since they get a cut from each purchase on the Oculus store and even though the account maybe fake it can still be used to shovel ads your way.

Facebook was permabanning people left and right at the start of this, becuase they got flagged as fake accounts. Even though that was an accident, I wouldn't say never on them acting on it.

[Biohazard777]

2 hours ago, tikker said:

Unless I misunderstand you, "only 1 personal account is allowed" means you are not allowed to create a separate account for the quest. I wasn't referring to an account just for the quest, but creating one in addition to one you already have

You are allowed to make only 1 FB account, that is why I posted a screenshot and the link to ToS.
I was agreeing with you, under the FB ToS you aren't allowed to make another account just for the Quest.

 

2 hours ago, tikker said:

Facebook was permabanning people left and right at the start of this, becuase they got flagged as fake accounts. Even though that was an accident, I wouldn't say never on them acting on it.

They were permabanning because their tools and software is full of bugs.

To be fair Facebook has banned billions of fake accounts, they also ban millions of fake accounts daily with their AI tool.
That being said as long as FB doesn't mess up and you don't start behaving a like a bot (liking hundreds of pages as soon as you sign up, sending thousands of friends requests, spamming with links) you most probably will not be flagged as fake.

Then again, they had that pretty embarrassing Instagram fail earlier this year because they didn't do any server end filtering, exploited by a 15 yo kid hah.

 

To sum it up:

If you aren't on Facebook then make a new account, you don't have to use it for anything else.
If you already have a FB account then you've got a choice:
a) Follow the ToS and use your existing FB account.
b) Don't follow and risk FB banning your new account, which I am not saying is impossible just IMHO highly improbable.
Either way if you end up having issues you can contact the Oculus support (don't contact FB support, they are useless most of the time hah).