About to jump into the VR world .. simple question.

Luniticisi

Luniticisi
What is the best "cheap" headset that works with Elite. I don't have tons to spend, but i don't want Bantha poo doo either.

simple question, but sometimes those are the best.*





*maybe not in this case.
 
Last edited:

cmdrrdmc

C
Absolute cheapest are the Acer and Lenovo WMR headsets. Downsides are they use an LCD screen (colors not as nice, worse black levels), and they have a fixed IPD of 63mm (interpupillary distance, basically how far apart the lenses are so they are centered on your pupils). The IPD thing may be an issue for clarity if yours is much larger than this.

One step in price above that, your options are Rift and Vive. Advantages of those headsets is better tracking (WMR headsets use inside out tracking where the sensor cameras are in the headset rather in sensors you attach around your room) for roomscale stuff, but that isn't very relevant for sit-down games like ED. Another advantage is they use OLED screens, which provide better color and black levels. IPD is also adjustable. One down-side compared to WMR headsets, however, is that they use lower resolution screens (even compared to the Acer and Lenovo ones!). So it's a trade-off here between resolution and color levels.

There's also the higher end WMR headsets the Samsung Odyssey and Odyssey+. Probably the best commercial headset for Elite right now if you can swing it. Has OLED panels, adjustable IPD, and higher resolution than the Rift or Vive. The + version has an anti-screen door effect filter which apparently really reduces SDE.

Those are pretty much your main options. Keep in mind one factor I haven't discussed is comfort, and this is quite individual. Some people find one headset comfortable, while others do not.
 

Red River

Red River
Lenovo is not fixed IPD and can be adjusted from their app.
it's the best cheapest VR for Elite and there's another thread about it in this section...
 

cmdrrdmc

C
Red River said:
Lenovo is not fixed IPD and can be adjusted from their app.
it's the best cheapest VR for Elite and there's another thread about it in this section...
Click to expand...

Software IPD adjustment is not quite the same, and still won't work for as wide variety of people. Real IPD adjustment physically adjusts the distance between lenses. It's not necessarily an issue, but can be one if you have an uncommonly large IPD. Just figure OP should know in case he's one of those people.
 

ZeroAi

ZeroAi
Luniticisi said:
What is the best "cheap" headset that works with Elite. I don't have tons to spend, but i don't want Bantha poo doo either.

simple question, but sometimes those are the best.*





*maybe not in this case.
Click to expand...

I have a Rift, Acer, and Lenovo. As far as Elite goes, they're all good!

I usually play in my Rift, but I liked the Acer and Lenovo so much that I recommended them to my friends, and they've each picked one up and now play Elite with them.
 
Last edited:

Strangepork

Strangepork
Luniticisi said:
What is the best "cheap" headset that works with Elite. I don't have tons to spend, but i don't want Bantha poo doo either.

simple question, but sometimes those are the best.*





*maybe not in this case.
Click to expand...

Dude this Q is totally for me.

i have a four year old gaming laptop, based on a 980m nvidia GPU, under spec according to Oculus.

i went to Cex a second hand high street place in the UK, with out upgrading anything 2 years ago and bought a second hand Oculus DK2 headset.

After a settings research day, where the optimal setting is in game HMD quality to .65 and Oculus quality to 2.0 (all in the ingame graphics settings), it works amazingly.

i don’t play in 2d ever anymore and the whole thing was achieved for 175 Uk pounds.

john
 

Luniticisi

Luniticisi
great info! .. in so few posts :) .. I will be looking into this further .. it isn't too often I can spend chunks of cash like this, life too often gets in the way.
 

Sweet&Dandy

Sweet&Dandy
IMO it depends on your budget and what rig you have. The rift tends to be quite forgiving and is still a solid choice for so many reasons. If you plan to game outside of ED in VR I’d go for that.

Haven’t personally tried the cheaper windows headsets but people have good things to say about them - fixed IPD on some is a drawback though. If they are anything like the odyssey then they are better for ED simply because of the screens.

Welcome to the VR club whatever you choose!
 
Last edited:

bobtuck

B
Great advice so far here OP

My personal take is the Lenovo every time...love it! Smaller sweet spot than Rift but very quickly adapted to (small head movements not eye movements per se) but more than makes up for it with increased visual clarity!

I had a Rift two years ago but had to sell it on after a 8 months or so (played ED in it mostly) Bought the Lenovo just before Christmas (a toss up between another Rift for £350 or the Lenovo for £200) and was very suprised at the comfort and visual quality.

Return date was 31st January on the Lenovo so double checked wiseness of my decision by trying a friends Rift at the very same station I was using at the moment...instantly knew the Lenovo was staying!

Honestly....and I'm not being scornful of the Rift, each to their own....but for me I would see going back to it as a definite downgrade.
 

CMDR Harada

CMDR Harada
I tried the Oculous, the Vive, Samsung Odyssey, and Samsung Odyssey+ . I ended up buying the Odyssey+.

All of them are good. All of them will give you that "WOW" factor. It's after that initial bit wears off that you begin to look at the headset.

SDE, Resolution, God Rays, and color depth all play a part. But eventually, you'll adjust to whatever headset you buy. You won't see the SDE or God Rays. Flat color depth will seem normal. Lower resolution will seem normal for the headset.

Buy the best one you can afford, and jump in. I got lucky and found the Odyssey+ on a black Friday deal that I couldn't pass up. I also have an M$ store at a mall 15 minutes from where I work, so I could just walk in and buy it ( after another demo of Space Pirate Trainer ).
 

[VR] Zakk

[VR] Zakk
I went VR only for Elite a while ago, and didn't regret it. Got the Oculus, also in a sweet deal.

However... the new graphics card set me back more than the headset did. The game did run on my old system (Core i5 / 4th generation, GTX 970), but it only looks good since I upgraded to a GTX 1080 Ti. That did cost more than the Oculus.

Still worth it. Elite is a system seller when it comes to VR.
 

mossfoot

mossfoot
I can recommend the Lenovo Explorer as a budget solution. I have a 970 graphics card and it works just fine on it. Others have explained why in more detail above.
 

Rock Hunter

Rock Hunter
My first and only experience of VR is with my Samsung Odyssey (the original not the +) and I’m absolutely loving the game and would definitely recommend giving it a try if you’re able.

I went with the Odyssey as I have a large IPD so believed I’d needed a truly, read manual, adjustable IPD dial. I also wanted OLED screens and the higher resolution so it left me a smaller pool to choose from. My point is simple, but personal. Once I’d got the Odyssey and adjusted the IPD to my measured IPD I have to say I noticed virtually no difference across the entire range. I wouldn’t want to suggest you won’t notice any difference but if you’re able to try one of the cheaper WMD headsets without adjustable IPD you may find that it works perfectly well, it’s certainly not worth discounting them out of hand without trying one.

Anyway, as I say I’m no VR expert so take my advice in that vein. Whatever you choose I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.
 

mossfoot

mossfoot
Luniticisi said:
Ok, For those interested ... I went for the Lenovo.. it cost less. it's coming tomorrow. I will report back.
Click to expand...

Good affordable choice. Same choice I made. Probably the best way to go till next gen VR comes along. Save your pennies for that ;)
 
Last edited:

[VR] Frank_G

[VR] Frank_G
Luniticisi said:
Ok, For those interested ... I went for the Lenovo.. it cost less. it's coming tomorrow. I will report back.
Click to expand...

Then today is the big day. :)

The one thing i can tell you up front... There is no way back from VR. Since my Rift arrived 2.5 years ago, i haven't touched a single monitor game. These days i play Elite almost exclusively, as it is still the best VR game to date. You definitely made a choice, when you decided to go for VR. Have fun and share your experience!

Fly dangerous CMDR

o7
 

thistle

T
Luniticisi said:
Ok, For those interested ... I went for the Lenovo.. it cost less. it's coming tomorrow. I will report back.
Click to expand...
I have the Lenovo too. It's very good, albeit I've never tried any others to have something to compare to.

Key things to set for the Lenovo in my experience that increase the sharpness without damaging fps:
- WMR rendering (renderTargetScale=2) to 2, NOT the default 1.
- Steam VR I set to 150%, in game HMD quality to 1.0, in game supersampling to 1.0, maybe try that as a starting point and then increase HMD in game if your system can handle it. I only have a lowly GTX 970 and it all works very well at those settings.

Sweet spot is small, position of the headset is key, especially vertically. Slightly out, blurred, get it right text is very sharp.


...

Off topic, people often talk about the stations in VR being amazing, which they are, the scale etc. One of the things others don't seem to like about VR, drving around in the SRV (I dont get ill from VR it seems), I think is one of the best experiences. The scale is obvious on surfaces, more than in space I think. You're in a small vehicle, which your brain is fooled into believing you can literally reach out and touch as it's so close, and outside there's this massive space ship. Parked on top of a mountain, or surrounded by 100 foot water geysers. I can just sit there on planets gawping.

Anyway ...

edit - the rendertargetscale file location etc is in Steed's WMR thread:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...lity-VR-info-installation-and-troubleshooting
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom