Valve has spoken

VR StarLightPL

VR StarLightPL
Vasea Azure said:
The entire process of having an extra device on my face is just not worth the trouble for me
(...)
Perhaps when the tech will be less intrusive/smaller, lighter with better resolution
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It's lovingly called "friction" among VR users, myself included. And is a well known "sickness" (because we don't like admitting we're lazy). Sometimes I just don't want to clear the playspace, move my chair and small desk, keep the dog out of the room, adjust the chaperone grid size if I intend to play more intensive roomscale game like Onward. On that days I just fire up Destiny 2 ;-). Also playing something like Beat Saber is like a real workout, you get all sweaty etc. But there was a time with my HTC Vive that I got home from work, ate something and fired up Elite, and played till going to bed :D That easily accounted for about a hundred hours if not more in VR Elite.

As for resolution: IDK if you tried the latest gen (Index or Rift S, and now HP reverb) - the resolution is in a really good place now (as the Alyx trailer shows), leaps and bounds better than first gen of headsets. It also doesn't require a beast of a computer anymore to run either of these headsets, thanks to clever engineering tricks. Of course as with pancake gaming if you want "epic" quality, you need to invest in a beefier GPU, but that's obvious. GTX 970 is enough to run it. I used an i5-3570k till this summer which is officially below the minspec but was able to run VR just fine.

As for comfort: Index is very comfortable, they engineered the HMD well. You just fit it on your head once, and then put it on and off like a hat. The harness is really well designed inso that you don't really feel the weight of the headset. And the microfiber cloth is very nice to the touch. The off-ear speakers are great, and don't isolate you 100% from the environment so you aren't oblivious of dog rummaging through the kitchen or kids up to some mischief. Yet they can drown out outside sounds just enough to be totally immersed.

IMHO Index is hands down the most comfortable VR headset on the planet right now. Is it without flaws? No. There is glare due to complicated lens system, and it's IMHO prohibitorily expensive. Having htc vive I could skip the basestations so the price was a bit easier to swallow, but it was still a whopping 3.5k PLN. I bought it because I'm an enthusiast, and wanted a resolution and field of view update, and most importantly clarity throughout my vision field so I can look with my eyes, not with neck movements while looking straight :) Also in retrospect, the price is lower by about 300-400pln now, because of the HL: Alyx and discounts given in this silly steam grand prix event in summer. Index purchase granted us between 100-200PLN in discounts, so I added a few games to my library back then. HL: Alyx will be given to anyone who purchases an index till the end of 2019 from what valve says, so if someone's on the verge of buying, that is an effective ~46-60€ discount depending on regional steam pricing/currency.
 
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VR StarLightPL

VR StarLightPL
Navigare Necesse Est said:
They can make HL3 VR only too, if they like. I'm just not likely to buy it then.
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They won't, it would end up with riots and throwing rocks at Valve's HQ 😂 If anything, they will skip the number [again] ;-). I think if we are ever going to see Gordon, I am sure they will make a proper pancake game. Also I think HL:Alyx might be the gauge of interest in the franchise. Because I know some younger gamers who will ask me "Half-what?" or, "nah it wasn't good" - because they were raised in another era of gaming renaissance. We're mostly old farts here, remembering the original Elite :cool:, but the rest of the world? We will see.
 

Navigare Necesse Est

Navigare Necesse Est
StarLightPL said:
They won't, it would end up with riots and throwing rocks at Valve's HQ 😂 If anything, they will skip the number [again] ;-). I think if we are ever going to see Gordon, I am sure they will make a proper pancake game. Also I think HL:Alyx might be the gauge of interest in the franchise. Because I know some younger gamers who will ask me "Half-what?" or, "nah it wasn't good" - because they were raised in another era of gaming renaissance. We're mostly old farts here, remembering the original Elite :cool:, but the rest of the world? We will see.
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I'm not so sure, because HL2 as gateway for Steam installs did really work out well for Valve. So they might just try to do it again for VR.
 

VR StarLightPL

VR StarLightPL
Yeah, but steam was a free inconvenience, a paradigm shift if you will at no additional cost. It didn't require hardware contribution in the range of a GPU upgrade. And for some peps, whole rig upgrade. Well, I'm a VR enthusiast so by all means they can try to sell that for the Index 2.0 as far as I am concerned, as long as the new HMD provides worthwhile upgrade ;-)
 

VR StarLightPL

VR StarLightPL
Jezzah said:
As much as I'd probably love to play this I just dont really want to make the leap to VR yet. For many reasons I'd love to make the jump but just as many why I'd rather not.
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To all what I wrote above, I can only say that this is a good time to get into (current gen) VR. You're missing out on simply having fun in different genres. Sure, that's nothing when compared to pancake gaming... but this brings so much to the table in terms of current available titles that can tide someone just starting over to the next gen easily :)

You always have been nice here Jezzah, if you have any questions about VR you wanted answered, just shoot me a message and I will try to help.
 
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