Waste of money to buy VR now?

[Craith]

I tried the HoloLens and was not impressed. It was a nice small size and light weight, but came with a very narrow box in which you could see stuff, which killed any immersion right away. It's definitely a nice bit of hardware, but for AR, not for VR ...
I have my Vive now for nearly 1 year and I can say I already got my money's worth out of it ... about 1 month after I bought it, the rest is bonus.

 

[lasvideo]

I started playing ED on a flat screen to learn how to play it and program the bindings. It was fun. I switched to playing in on my Vive and it took my breath away. Now when I fire it up, I really feel like I have a second career as a pilot. The immersion created with a HOTAS and a rumbler on my Flight seat creates a "reality" so intense, at first I was deathly afraid to try docking. Now a days it continues to be a spectacular experience. The graphics and not as pretty as flat screen, but I feel like Im not just looking at the game... I am IN the game

 

[VR StarLightPL]

You said in another thread that you dislike the resolution on current gen VR. These things are pricey, and very subjective. People rant on how screen door effect is horrible for example. It never was a problem for me, personally. But Rift's godrays were bugging me more than Vive's lens-flares. Subjectively, again. So nobody can tell you if you will like using it longer. It also looks from the title of your thread that you've settled on a decision for now and looking for affirmation.

So, if you want a non-cottoned look how current gen VR is, I can tell you. It's more buggy than Elite's 2.3 release (ok, let's not be that hard on VR, a little less buggy than 2.3! ;-) ).

There is not much high quality content, Elite is a fine gem but besides it? There are lots of early access titles, almost all are overpriced, and providing a couple hours of gameplay at best. If you like racing there are Dirt Rally (can't remember WHICH one), and Project Cars. Digital Combat Simulator which is free to play but in truth needs a lot of paid dlcs. Serious Sam series got ported to VR (The First and Second Encounters - both awesome in VR) and there is Eve Valkyrie which despite its simplicity is CQC on steroids and actually successful. There are a few notable early access out there, like Raw Data, but that's what it says - early access.

But the titles appear and big ones are in the works, but we're still content starved. There is lots of crap "experiences" out there, mostly looking for making quick buck on naive users. Fallout 4 is in the works, also the new Doom is to be ported. Somebody made a mod for Doom BFG Edition,

All that said - I don't regret buying the vive. With its all bugs and glitches, VR presence is awesome, and the userbase is growing. And content will come, I think VR is here to stay longer. Wouldn't bet much on the competitors you mentioned, perhaps they will cause the leading headset prices to drop. We will see.

 

[H'avok]

it must have been lost in translation but pimax 4k has zero tracking issues. it doesn't have positional tracking which is why there's so much drift sometimes. and that's IMO it's biggest issue right now.
however, if you own EDtrackit then it will work by disabling the HMD gyro...

That IS the tracking issue...

 

[Strangepork]

New headsets are coming this spring/summer from microsoft/acer, Leonovo and Dell.
They are going to have better hardware specs and lower price.

So i guess its not worth it to buy any VR right now?

I waded in with a second hand dk2 for 172 pounds on the high street from CEX, in the UK.

My 3 year old laptop (with 980m) handles it really well, with a few days research into settings, the main one being, in game SS to .65 and HMD quality set to 2.0.. it's great, though a bit pixilated which is easily ignored when you are inside the 3d model. I now play in VR about half the time.

 

[Zeeman]

I bought my Rift second hand, with about 15 hours on it, for about £300. Worth every cent.

The only thing for me is that I find it damn uncomfortable, so keep having to move it around on my head, otherwise, well worth it. There's nothing like truly appreciating the scale of the ships, stations, planets etc. in ED.

Z...

 

[kiario]

You said in another thread that you dislike the resolution on current gen VR. These things are pricey, and very subjective. People rant on how screen door effect is horrible for example. It never was a problem for me, personally. But Rift's godrays were bugging me more than Vive's lens-flares. Subjectively, again. So nobody can tell you if you will like using it longer. It also looks from the title of your thread that you've settled on a decision for now and looking for affirmation.

So, if you want a non-cottoned look how current gen VR is, I can tell you. It's more buggy than Elite's 2.3 release (ok, let's not be that hard on VR, a little less buggy than 2.3! ;-) ).

There is not much high quality content, Elite is a fine gem but besides it? There are lots of early access titles, almost all are overpriced, and providing a couple hours of gameplay at best. If you like racing there are Dirt Rally (can't remember WHICH one), and Project Cars. Digital Combat Simulator which is free to play but in truth needs a lot of paid dlcs. Serious Sam series got ported to VR (The First and Second Encounters - both awesome in VR) and there is Eve Valkyrie which despite its simplicity is CQC on steroids and actually successful. There are a few notable early access out there, like Raw Data, but that's what it says - early access.

But the titles appear and big ones are in the works, but we're still content starved. There is lots of crap "experiences" out there, mostly looking for making quick buck on naive users. Fallout 4 is in the works, also the new Doom is to be ported. Somebody made a mod for Doom BFG Edition,

All that said - I don't regret buying the vive. With its all bugs and glitches, VR presence is awesome, and the userbase is growing. And content will come, I think VR is here to stay longer. Wouldn't bet much on the competitors you mentioned, perhaps they will cause the leading headset prices to drop. We will see.

Hi,

I actually bought one yesterday, but the discomfort to the face and neck strain was too much for me. I would have kept it if that was not a problem. So now I have tried at least and know that Comfort is a big factor with VR headsets.

Thanks for all the advise though.

 

[BigDuke6ixx]

Hi,

I actually bought one yesterday, but the discomfort to the face and neck strain was too much for me. I would have kept it if that was not a problem. So now I have tried at least and know that Comfort is a big factor with VR headsets.

Thanks for all the advise though.

Maybe you just need to man up a bit?

 

[space pilot]

Neck strain? Whatever your situation is, like being in an iron lung, or a UFO pilot, it's rare.

 

[Hooplah]

ED is coming to the PlayStation who already has a tested and working VR. Works awesome so far with the games supported. Maybe not as good as Oculus or Vibe but I'll let you know whenever Frontier decides to support it.

 

[Stinja]

I have PlayStation VR even with the lowest resolution of the 3 big VR headsets I am very happy with it.

You can use the PSVR for PC-Elite too, well worth the minor fuss setting it up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ73kFn2fVY

 

[Meatshield58]

Same here. I want to be in the world not looking at it through pixie windows.

Great if it is that great please help me set mine up so there is no jitter I posted a request for help last night without on single reply I have tried many things to get it working and it still looks like C*@p I know I am doing something wrong but I dont know what and no one to call at Oculus for walk through no one to talk to at elite for settings my computer vendor says not their issue. so right now for me big waste of money and time......

waiting to see is anyone will help me

 

[Ashnak]

Great if it is that great please help me set mine up so there is no jitter I posted a request for help last night without on single reply I have tried many things to get it working and it still looks like C*@p I know I am doing something wrong but I dont know what and no one to call at Oculus for walk through no one to talk to at elite for settings my computer vendor says not their issue. so right now for me big waste of money and time......

waiting to see is anyone will help me

First of all - a link to your thread might have been very helpful.

Next - see there.

 

[GJ51]

I'm still a VR skeptic

Still feels like it's in beta and not yet a mature technology that doesn't require a lot of troubleshooting to make work.

I'm really happy using a 34" widescreen and I'm quite content to wait until the performance, quality, and ease of use mature a bit - oh and then there's the cost, which should come down eventually.


I plan on building a new game PC toward the end of this summer and hope to see a decent 38" 3840 X 1600 curved monitor perhaps with G-Sync available for my next system.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Hi,

I actually bought one yesterday, but the discomfort to the face and neck strain was too much for me. I would have kept it if that was not a problem. So now I have tried at least and know that Comfort is a big factor with VR headsets.

Thanks for all the advise though.

Which one did you buy? These things need adjustments, regardless of which one you bought, thats what the knobs and straps are for

 

[Thorvald]

Well I started with the DK2 and the first moment I stood up in a sidewinder and could look outside all around my ship and see the guns deploying etc, I was HOOKED. Now what 2 years later? I finally upgraded to the CV1 and finally glad I did. The resolution boost is worth it and the tracking is much better. I only took the recent discount of the CV1 to push me over the edge.

Would I hold out? God no. Those dingbats at Occulus think their next headset will be a "inbetween" the Samsung VR and the Rift so it looks like it will be a while before we get CV2 or whatever they call it.

Question is, do you have the spare cash? Yes? Do you have a powerful enough PC? DO IT NOW lol. It is a complete game changer. Especially with the cheaper price. If your just a sim guy (DCS and ED), skip the touch controllers and save money. Then sell the Xbox One controller that comes with the Rift to recoup more money.

 

[megadonkeyx]

its not a waste at all, current vr has this effect of occasionally just hitting you with a full whack of immersion, maybe only for a few seconds but 2d gaming is so very limited. carpe diem etc etc

 

[Franc Kaos]

its not a waste at all, current vr has this effect of occasionally just hitting you with a full whack of immersion, maybe only for a few seconds but 2d gaming is so very limited. carpe diem etc etc

There's this free 'Face your fear' app on Oculus, and I do have pretty bad vertigo, but this is the first time I literally had to take the headset off, like, I couldn't even move my feet. Even tho I knew I was in my front room on solid ground I felt like I was dangling hundreds of feet up in the air. It was freak-ing <how is that word censored?> awesome!

 

[Kaltern]

I bought a Rift last year and kept it for a week. I returned it.

A week later, I regretted doing that. A few days after that I no longer cared because I had a new 1080, to replace my 970.

The difference between a 970 and 1080 for triple screen play cannot be understated.

It was a few months later I realised that I really miss the VR experience, and even with it's flaws, it was the feeling of immersion that made the experience so compelling. I also realised that with supersampling, (which was impossible with a 970 on most games), the visual quality might improve just enough to not bother me quite so much.

I also bought a Google Pixel (not XL), and a DayDream. While it certainly isn't perfect, it offers an adequate VR experience, and made me long for a Rift once again.

So... I'm expecting another one this coming Tuesday (damn Easter deliveries). And I suspect this time I won't feel the slight feeling of disappointment at the resolution, or the godray issue. I believe that knowing the issues already, and coming from the Daydream, I will once again feel the immersion I've been missing in any cockpit game I play.

The only thing I WON'T be doing immediately is to play Dirt Rally. That game knocked me out for 3 days, with dizziness and tiredness. I can't specifically explain why, but it is such an intense experience - even more so than any other racing game I played - it virtually(sic) shut my brain down for a few days. (that's what ultimately made me return it originally).

And with Touch (which I shall buy next month), and the new Async tech, I think that the overall experience is available to anyone with even a reasonable PC (even my poor 970). So I would absolutely try it - buy it from Amazon.. if you don't like it simply return for a refund.

 

[dogbite]

I'm still a VR skeptic

Still feels like it's in beta and not yet a mature technology that doesn't require a lot of troubleshooting to make work.

First gen for sure. Beta? not at all. Sure there is some tweaking for games like ED that aren't native VR apps, but if written for VR, things work really well, right from the get go.

The experience in ED alone was worth it even a year ago and things have improved in many ways since then like being able to up the pixel density, ATW and ASW.
ED has some unique issues with very contrasting graphics assets that were written for 2d that make it more tweak driven at this time but still hardly anyone will return to ever using a monitor. There have been a lot of 4k monitor users here and in other forums who have said the same things. I have a 147" 1080p display on the wall and preferred size over 4k, especially in space and flightsims so I didn't suffer as much of a loss of resolution. The wall, which killed lan parties here because everyone wanted to play on the big display, was replaced by the Rift-now that's a big display -and your in the game. If you look at made for VR games like Robo Recall (simply gorgeous) it becomes quite clear that this is ready for prime time tech. I too was a skeptic, however, the sheer volume of DK2 users alone having wow moments in Elite and DCS made me push the button on the CV1, sight unseen. Never looked back.