So just thought now I've got it all working well and had a little time immersed in the Rift that I'd share my experience with VR so far, I've been a gamer on and off since the early days of Spectrum, Commodore 64 etc but never tried out VR in any form before using this Rift CV1, gaming and VR however have always been something that's interested me.
I brought myself a new PC about six months ago after not having one for about five or six years, was only playing consoles as these days I still sometimes look forward to new games coming out but often get board with them after around 20 hours or so played.
I was looking up No Mans Sky as I've always had an interest in Astronomy, Cosmology and more recently Mathematics so NMS seemed right up my street.
While looking up about NMS development on YouTube I saw two things, Space Engine and Elite and knew right then it was time to get into PC gaming.
Luckily I did as NMS from what I've read didn't turn out too good?
Elite however has turned out to be the best game I've ever played and that's even before experiencing it in VR! Space Engine is also an awesome experience so no regrets.
Anyway back to the point, ok I'd read a lot about Oculus from this site and others so was well aware of the pros and cons but even so it's still hard to tell whether you're going to like it not, that's why I'm writing this as just another point of view to maybe help you in deciding whether it's for you.
My main concerns before buying it were....
God Rays,
Resolution,
Rift Face was a minor concern,
The Rift lenses steaming up/getting hot and just being uncomfortable to use.
God Rays are so minimal for me they're no problem whatsoever! Don't know if I got lucky with my Rift or if I'm just not sensitive to them but I never notice them even in Elite which I hear is the worst for them.
If I try to see them I can but I see much worse GRs on a slightly greasy car windscreen.
I was actually going to put GRs down to slightly greasy glass on my Ship if they were as bad as some say but no need.
I'll add to this SDE, again never notice it unless I'm looking for it.
Resolution, ok this does take a hit, a pretty big hit and if like me you're coming from a 48inch 4KTV playing in Ultra it's a massive hit!
Not going to lie but after really enjoying the Dream Deck my first impression of Elite in VR wasn't that mind blowing feeling a lot of people experience, it didn't help that I had a few teething issues getting Elite to work smoothly on my set up so that took away some of the initial wow factor as I was constantly peeking under the nose gap checking frame rates and temps etc.
It took a few sessions before I stopped playing like I do on my TV and then it really started to feel like I was actually inside my Ship flying through Space, now I've sorted the problem I was having it's everything I hoped it would be and more!
You just can't overestimate how much realism is added when everything has depth and more importantly scale! 1 to 1 scale makes everything so immense and epic it's hard to explain but trust me, what you lack in resolution you more than make up for with presence and so much presence you can actually feel the flying you are doing.
Rift Face was only a minor concern, don't want to sound to vain but I didn't really want big red lines over my face but again it's no problem whatsoever when you get the straps set right.
I've found it best to get the back Triangle right down on the back of your head, get the top strap supporting the weight of the headset and then tighten the side straps just enough to keep the Triangle low on the back of your head, this way I never get Rift Face and only get a couple of small pinkish marks on the sides of my forehead that go after about 2 minutes.
Comfort level is also good, I often have a fan lightly blowing on me when in the Rift and the air goes through the nose gap, keeps the lenses clear from steaming up and keeps my face nice and cool.
Basically my concerns about the Rift all turned out to be a nonissue, even the resolution as even though obviously when it improves in the future it will be great! The sense of actually flying in the Elite Universe more than makes up for it.
Just go to a Planet and see the huge size of it! Fly close over its surface looking at the rolling hills, massive mountain ranges and deep canyons and you'll be sold.
Flying over the ridge of an impact crater and watching the ground literally drop out from under you through the glass foot panels in an Asp gives you that feeling in your stomach of real height and speed!
Try turning your Ship to the side to roll around the lip of said crater and it feels as though you could actually fall out the Side of your Ship! No Monitor however big or detailed could ever give you anything close to that and that's just two examples of many.
To sum up, if all you could play on the Rift was Elite and nothing else I'd still happily pay the money for it and wouldn't regret it one bit! It has to be the closest thing to actually flying you can get right now and it's Awsome!
TLDR....
Rift is Awesome! Buy one, steal one or if you can make one because the future is here!
Oh one last thing....
VR sickness,
Seems I've got the stomach of a Fighter Pilot as I can throw my Ships around as hard as possible and never feel sick at all, felt a little odd a couple of times in my very first combat experiences but even in the SRV I'm good, felt a little strange without horizon lock but not sick.
If you wanna feel VR sickness I got it after about an hour in the Vanishing of Ethan Carter so I'm not completely immune lol, looks so good in VR though!
See you in the black.
I brought myself a new PC about six months ago after not having one for about five or six years, was only playing consoles as these days I still sometimes look forward to new games coming out but often get board with them after around 20 hours or so played.
I was looking up No Mans Sky as I've always had an interest in Astronomy, Cosmology and more recently Mathematics so NMS seemed right up my street.
While looking up about NMS development on YouTube I saw two things, Space Engine and Elite and knew right then it was time to get into PC gaming.
Luckily I did as NMS from what I've read didn't turn out too good?
Elite however has turned out to be the best game I've ever played and that's even before experiencing it in VR! Space Engine is also an awesome experience so no regrets.
Anyway back to the point, ok I'd read a lot about Oculus from this site and others so was well aware of the pros and cons but even so it's still hard to tell whether you're going to like it not, that's why I'm writing this as just another point of view to maybe help you in deciding whether it's for you.
My main concerns before buying it were....
God Rays,
Resolution,
Rift Face was a minor concern,
The Rift lenses steaming up/getting hot and just being uncomfortable to use.
God Rays are so minimal for me they're no problem whatsoever! Don't know if I got lucky with my Rift or if I'm just not sensitive to them but I never notice them even in Elite which I hear is the worst for them.
If I try to see them I can but I see much worse GRs on a slightly greasy car windscreen.
I was actually going to put GRs down to slightly greasy glass on my Ship if they were as bad as some say but no need.
I'll add to this SDE, again never notice it unless I'm looking for it.
Resolution, ok this does take a hit, a pretty big hit and if like me you're coming from a 48inch 4KTV playing in Ultra it's a massive hit!
Not going to lie but after really enjoying the Dream Deck my first impression of Elite in VR wasn't that mind blowing feeling a lot of people experience, it didn't help that I had a few teething issues getting Elite to work smoothly on my set up so that took away some of the initial wow factor as I was constantly peeking under the nose gap checking frame rates and temps etc.
It took a few sessions before I stopped playing like I do on my TV and then it really started to feel like I was actually inside my Ship flying through Space, now I've sorted the problem I was having it's everything I hoped it would be and more!
You just can't overestimate how much realism is added when everything has depth and more importantly scale! 1 to 1 scale makes everything so immense and epic it's hard to explain but trust me, what you lack in resolution you more than make up for with presence and so much presence you can actually feel the flying you are doing.
Rift Face was only a minor concern, don't want to sound to vain but I didn't really want big red lines over my face but again it's no problem whatsoever when you get the straps set right.
I've found it best to get the back Triangle right down on the back of your head, get the top strap supporting the weight of the headset and then tighten the side straps just enough to keep the Triangle low on the back of your head, this way I never get Rift Face and only get a couple of small pinkish marks on the sides of my forehead that go after about 2 minutes.
Comfort level is also good, I often have a fan lightly blowing on me when in the Rift and the air goes through the nose gap, keeps the lenses clear from steaming up and keeps my face nice and cool.
Basically my concerns about the Rift all turned out to be a nonissue, even the resolution as even though obviously when it improves in the future it will be great! The sense of actually flying in the Elite Universe more than makes up for it.
Just go to a Planet and see the huge size of it! Fly close over its surface looking at the rolling hills, massive mountain ranges and deep canyons and you'll be sold.
Flying over the ridge of an impact crater and watching the ground literally drop out from under you through the glass foot panels in an Asp gives you that feeling in your stomach of real height and speed!
Try turning your Ship to the side to roll around the lip of said crater and it feels as though you could actually fall out the Side of your Ship! No Monitor however big or detailed could ever give you anything close to that and that's just two examples of many.
To sum up, if all you could play on the Rift was Elite and nothing else I'd still happily pay the money for it and wouldn't regret it one bit! It has to be the closest thing to actually flying you can get right now and it's Awsome!
TLDR....
Rift is Awesome! Buy one, steal one or if you can make one because the future is here!
Oh one last thing....
VR sickness,
Seems I've got the stomach of a Fighter Pilot as I can throw my Ships around as hard as possible and never feel sick at all, felt a little odd a couple of times in my very first combat experiences but even in the SRV I'm good, felt a little strange without horizon lock but not sick.
If you wanna feel VR sickness I got it after about an hour in the Vanishing of Ethan Carter so I'm not completely immune lol, looks so good in VR though!
See you in the black.
Last edited:
