Advice needed

[Alex Brentnall]

Howdy folks, I'm looking to join the VR club towards the back end of this year and am currently in a bit of a mix between Occulus and HTC Vive. I've also seen the MS Hololens but that's a ways away so focussing on the 2 for now.
Most of my system specs are in my signature. I would be using the VR purely for Elite until something else grabs my fancy. Possibly some driving games or whatever I can find that is compatible really. Mainly Elite though.

Key questions:
1) Personal advice on which ones best. I know that's a subjective question but I've had a good look at the specs and reviews and it seems without personally trying them both it's difficult to decide either way?
2) Which leads me on to Q2. I'm based (sort-of) in South UK (Isle of Wight). Is there any relatively local places that will be offering demo's this year like Lave-con or similar? I can travel but would prefer to go a single trip and experience both at once if possible.
3) Any advice on other requirements (room size, gaming area setup etc) that I can consider doing something about between now and when I buy it.

Yes I recognise I'm quite early but I like to plan my purchases well in advance and since prices and stuff are being published around now it's good to get a heads up and make a few decisions. If you think I'm too early just tell me and I'll come back in a few months.
Side note: Occulus kinda put me off with the half-hand xbox controllers although Vive isn't going in a different direction really at the moment.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Edit: There's also the Morpheus but I don't hear much about it so it's not really on my radar atm.

 

[Flash_Baggins]

I have a DK2 and Im not upgrading to the CV1. If you dont mind a little lower quality then you can get a DK2 pretty cheaply (compared to the newer ones) on Ebay. Not much space is needed at all, less space is needed for the newer ones as well

 

[Bakkster]

1) Personal advice on which ones best. I know that's a subjective question but I've had a good look at the specs and reviews and it seems without personally trying them both it's difficult to decide either way?

Nobody knows, because neither are released or even have full specs released. You're best off waiting to see who has compatibility with the games you want to play, and in the case of support for both trying them out. Beyond that it seems Rift currently has the edge with optics and ergonomics, Vive has the edge with room scale use and motion tracking.

2) Which leads me on to Q2. I'm based (sort-of) in South UK (Isle of Wight). Is there any relatively local places that will be offering demo's this year like Lave-con or similar? I can travel but would prefer to go a single trip and experience both at once if possible.

Probably, both are trying to get lots of demos out there, because it's something you need to try to see how good it is.

 

[Mazhurg]

Too early to tell, as other than pundits (and controlled demoes) very few have had quality time with them, and those (independents) who do ain't speaking.

Personally, I'm pretty sure I'll get at minimum the PlaystationVR for that machine, as I already use the camera and the moves and there are a few compelling titles that will probably make it worth it (and Sony is actually on-line in a big way with it).

Now, for the PC I tend to favour the Vive, mainly for the hand held controllers as I have an Omni:move on the way (Kickstart supporter) and want commonality in controllers right from the start, something that the Oculus won't have initially. That may actually tend to fracture its control standardization. One thing I found out playing around with the DK2 is that gamepads are not a very good VR input device - but that is a personal bias.

 

[el_tel]

They'll be at least one DK2 and one CV1 to try out at Lavecon this year (16/17 July). Possibly a Vive too, but that's not certain.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Thanks for the advice. What I'm hearing is "I'm too early" and "I should book a ticket to lavecon"
Will come back in a few months when we all know more.

Thanks everyone

 

[el_tel]

Sorry Alex. I missed the part where you said you were in the IOW and were looking for somewhere local to try out the kit. The only other event I know of that has kit to try is Fantasticon, but that takes place in Hull so is no use to you either.

I guess your best bet would be to wait for posts from those who've tried side-by-side comparisons using ED

 

[shadragon]

Side note: Occulus kinda put me off with the half-hand xbox controllers although Vive isn't going in a different direction really at the moment.

I plan on getting the HTC Vive Pre on release. I don't plan on walking around, nor using the hand controllers (at least primarily). With Elite, I can sit and use my HOTAS / keyboard combo as usual. It comes down to the headset for me. I'm not getting into a 'Vive is better than Oculus' or vice versa thing. Just saying that the Vive appeals to me. I don't mind paying a few bucks more for the quality. That being said, the costs of getting a new video card, Vive and all of the duty and shipping on top is staggering.

Luckily, I'm worth it.

 

[Soda Popinski]

1) Personal advice on which ones best. I know that's a subjective question but I've had a good look at the specs and reviews and it seems without personally trying them both it's difficult to decide either way?

Best I think can be said is to compare the Oculus CV1 to the Vive Pre, since most folks are expecting the consumer Vive to be pretty close to the Pre. I've tried both, but haven't used the Touch yet. The Rift is far lighter and more comfortable and has less "screen door effect." So if you plan to only use VR for a seated cockpit like experience, like I did, Rift all the way.

After trying the Vive in "room scale" - I now want room scale. That will require some extra space. I plan to use the old "Kinect" space for eventual Room Scale. Palmer Luckey has stated the Rift can do comparable room scale to the Vive, but those games really only work with the motion sensors (Touch or SteamVR controllers). Touch won't be out until 2nd half (December 2016?), so if you go Rift, you'll have to wait for that.

3) Any advice on other requirements (room size, gaming area setup etc) that I can consider doing something about between now and when I buy it.

As far as how small can you get away with, most of the "room scale" games and demos I've seen accommodate smaller spaces, either by having a small area (see "Hover Junkers") or movement by teleportation. I think I've seen 1m x 1m being the minimum area you want.

Here's me trying out the Vive in "Room Scale"
[video=youtube;qwynZ1KMB2w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwynZ1KMB2w[/video]

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Sorry Alex. I missed the part where you said you were in the IOW and were looking for somewhere local to try out the kit. The only other event I know of that has kit to try is Fantasticon, but that takes place in Hull so is no use to you either.
I guess your best bet would be to wait for posts from those who've tried side-by-side comparisons using ED

Yeah, I do drive and can travel but with a £50 ferry journey each time I'd like to go to one event and experience both if possible <- Ideally also playing Elite but thats a big ask and I'm not sure anywhere will be doing that demo apart from lavecon maybe

I plan on getting the HTC Vive Pre on release. I don't plan on walking around, nor using the hand controllers (at least primarily). With Elite, I can sit and use my HOTAS / keyboard combo as usual. It comes down to the headset for me. I'm not getting into a 'Vive is better than Oculus' or vice versa thing. Just saying that the Vive appeals to me. I don't mind paying a few bucks more for the quality. That being said, the costs of getting a new video card, Vive and all of the duty and shipping on top is staggering.
Luckily, I'm worth it.

Yeah, luckily I think my system will be able to take it, just got to get the bucks in for the VR device itself. Pretty much like my plans to be honest with sit down and play

Best I think can be said is to compare the Oculus CV1 to the Vive Pre, since most folks are expecting the consumer Vive to be pretty close to the Pre. I've tried both, but haven't used the Touch yet. The Rift is far lighter and more comfortable and has less "screen door effect." So if you plan to only use VR for a seated cockpit like experience, like I did, Rift all the way.
After trying the Vive in "room scale" - I now want room scale. That will require some extra space. I plan to use the old "Kinect" space for eventual Room Scale. Palmer Luckey has stated the Rift can do comparable room scale to the Vive, but those games really only work with the motion sensors (Touch or SteamVR controllers). Touch won't be out until 2nd half (December 2016?), so if you go Rift, you'll have to wait for that.
As far as how small can you get away with, most of the "room scale" games and demos I've seen accommodate smaller spaces, either by having a small area (see "Hover Junkers") or movement by teleportation. I think I've seen 1m x 1m being the minimum area you want.
Here's me trying out the Vive in "Room Scale"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwynZ1KMB2w

Nice video. I'm not sure I want to risk the room-scale effect because I'm in rented accommodation so damage to the walls and making lots of noise isn't going to be something that I can afford to do

 

[Soda Popinski]

Nice video. I'm not sure I want to risk the room-scale effect because I'm in rented accommodation so damage to the walls and making lots of noise isn't going to be something that I can afford to do

By all means, go for the Oculus then. It'll likely be cheaper than the Vive, and should be more comfortable for that Hutton Run. If you do eventually want to do standing or room scale, you'll have that option later with the Touch.

 

[shadragon]

My cpu's are AMD, my video cards are MSI and my motherboards are ASUS.

So when I saw this new card today my heart literally skipped a beat when I saw the price.

 

[Bret Riverboat]

Howdy folks, I'm looking to join the VR club towards the back end of this year and am currently in a bit of a mix between Occulus and HTC Vive. I've also seen the MS Hololens but that's a ways away so focussing on the 2 for now.
Most of my system specs are in my signature. I would be using the VR purely for Elite until something else grabs my fancy. Possibly some driving games or whatever I can find that is compatible really. Mainly Elite though.

Key questions:
1) Personal advice on which ones best. I know that's a subjective question but I've had a good look at the specs and reviews and it seems without personally trying them both it's difficult to decide either way?
2) Which leads me on to Q2. I'm based (sort-of) in South UK (Isle of Wight). Is there any relatively local places that will be offering demo's this year like Lave-con or similar? I can travel but would prefer to go a single trip and experience both at once if possible.
3) Any advice on other requirements (room size, gaming area setup etc) that I can consider doing something about between now and when I buy it.

Yes I recognise I'm quite early but I like to plan my purchases well in advance and since prices and stuff are being published around now it's good to get a heads up and make a few decisions. If you think I'm too early just tell me and I'll come back in a few months.
Side note: Occulus kinda put me off with the half-hand xbox controllers although Vive isn't going in a different direction really at the moment.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Edit: There's also the Morpheus but I don't hear much about it so it's not really on my radar atm.

Hey Alex

I was in the same boat and chose not to pre-order any of them, i went for the DK2 from ebay. I have to say it's fantastic! It's taken a little bit of time to get it to run the best way for me but I'm very pleased overall.

If you ever go on the mainland and are in South Berkshire PM me and you can check it out for yourself.

 

[vic]

If I may give my opinions to you. I have the DK2 and although I love it I must tell you the fact that CV1 includes the headphones(whereas VIVE does not) is pretty important cuz having seperate headphones becomes quite a pain with extra cable and fiddling around while the hmd is on your head. Also, I hear CV1 is lighter than VIVE, which is also important becuase I find after having the hmd on your face for anything more than an hour hurts due to pressure on head/face/nose.
One more thing- oculus are way ahead in experience, maturity, and drivers software. Who knows of all the growing pains VIVE software/drivers will be going thru when released.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Thanks for the offer Bret. If I get chance I will take you up on it although I've already started looking at getting time off work to go up to Lavecon

If I may give my opinions to you. I have the DK2 and although I love it I must tell you the fact that CV1 includes the headphones(whereas VIVE does not) is pretty important cuz having seperate headphones becomes quite a pain with extra cable and fiddling around while the hmd is on your head. Also, I hear CV1 is lighter than VIVE, which is also important becuase I find after having the hmd on your face for anything more than an hour hurts due to pressure on head/face/nose.
One more thing- oculus are way ahead in experience, maturity, and drivers software. Who knows of all the growing pains VIVE software/drivers will be going thru when released.

Opinions all welcome but I have invested in audio already with a wireless headset (Logitech G930), hopefully they will fit with either headset although your point about headset weight is a good one especially since my gaming sessions tend to be either 30 minutes or 8 hours with very little inbetween

 

[Raptoyd]

Vive because I can do both sit, stand, move whatever I want that day and I have no worry about some future upgrade where I have to log in to Facebook, which I left long ago, to use it.

 

[vic]

Vive because I can do both sit, stand, move whatever I want that day and I have no worry about some future upgrade where I have to log in to Facebook, which I left long ago, to use it.

Why are people paranoid about being forced to log into facebook. There is no way you will be forced to login to facebook in order to use oculus. What a bunch of crap.

 

[Bret Riverboat]

Thanks for the offer Bret. If I get chance I will take you up on it although I've already started looking at getting time off work to go up to Lavecon



Opinions all welcome but I have invested in audio already with a wireless headset (Logitech G930), hopefully they will fit with either headset although your point about headset weight is a good one especially since my gaming sessions tend to be either 30 minutes or 8 hours with very little inbetween

Your headset will be great. Mines a G430 and its faultless.

I may may see you there then!

 

[Bakkster]

Why are people paranoid about being forced to log into facebook. There is no way you will be forced to login to facebook in order to use oculus. What a bunch of crap.

I also find it curious so few people are paranoid about being forced to use Steam.

 

[Hell Razor5543]

Somebody on this forum mentioned a VR system that uses the SDK software, and a webcam. Take a look at the "Deepoon E2", and there are videos showing them in use. About £200.

http://www.virtual-reality-shop.co.uk/deepoon-e2/