Quest 2 issues/questions

[Chaz]

I finally upgraded my CV1 to a Quest 2. Still got the CV1 plugged in for the mo until I've got the Quest 2 completely bedded in.

Just having a couple of teething problems right now though when trying to play through link, both cable and wireless.

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My main issue right now is the audio. It's as if the audio volume is at 50% of what it normally is when using the link cable, even with all volume sliders, on the Quest 2, in game and on PC task bar set to 100%. I've also checked the sound settings and mixers to see if anything has been set low and it's all at 100%.

I'm using the Headphones (Oculus Virtual Audio Device) and it's set to 100%. For comparison the Headphones (Rift Audio) slider I use with my CV1, is set to 49% and is still way louder and clearer than the audio through the Quest 2 with link.

Personally I haven't found that going wireless through Virtual Desktop has made a great deal of difference, although it does seem to be better, maybe because it uses it's own audio driver. Nor has having the "Hear Computer Audio in VR" enabled or disabled made any difference.

I know the Quest 2 is capable of much louder audio, as some of the native apps can be quite loud indeed, even requiring my having to reduce the volume. I've checked and fiddled with loads of settings in the Win10 preferences etc but to no avail. Anybody else had this issue and found a solution to it?

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My second issue is that whilst I can get Elite Dangerous running fine via the link cable, albeit with the reduced audio volume, I can't get it working wirelessly with Virtual Desktop. The problem is that I run Elite standalone through the Frontier launcher, I don't run it from either the Steam or Oculus homes. Currently it seems that you can only play PCVR games through VD that launch from either of those two. Is there any way of getting ED to run standalone wirelessly through VD without having to link the game to either my Steam or Oculus accounts?

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Anyway my initial impressions of the Quest 2 so far are very good. This really is the way to go. Finally being able to go wireless is such a massive boon. Playing PCVR games wirelessly through VD works flawlessly so far. Was playing HL Alyx for quite a while last night, still had 43% battery left on my Elite battery strap and 100% left on the Quest 2 itself. Using it with the Link cable plugged into the USB C port in my video card and the Quest 2 just sits at 100% charge for the entire session. Got one of these on order anyway "AUKEY Power bank", to boost my wireless play time even more.

Visuals look so much cleaner and crisper than my CV1. My IPD is 67.5, so 68 for all practical uses. Have the Quest 2 set to IPD setting 3 and I'm using some lens labs prescription inserts and it looks great. On the downside, black levels are a bit poor and it's more of a grey than a true black. I did know this going in though and I have quickly adjusted to it and got used to it, and for the most part it's really not that bad. In ED, the extra clarity and resolution, just trumps any black level draw backs and HL Alyx still looks stunning.

I'm having a lot of fun playing the VR RTCW port right now too. Can't wait to get the HL one working. Have also been surprised at how good the audio and the 3D spatial sound is. I really wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. Just a shame about the volume level problems I'm having using it via Link at the moment. Anyway, so far very pleased with the decision to go with a Quest 2 for my next VR upgrade.

 

[VR andysonofbob]

Can't help you with your headphone issue. I use a set of Marshals and they're very loud. They also match the Q2.
I also have the Hyper X clouds but they're no where near as good but still loud.

Unfortunately ED has to be played via Steam for wireless, so you will loose performance and it looks like the starfield is too close (but that might be because I need to change a setting somewhere in some ini file) . I just play cabled.

Soz.
I realise I wasn't remotely helpful.

 

[Chaz]

Right, so you can't play ED over wireless on Quest 2 via VD right now unless you run it from Steam? A bit of a shame but I guess I'll just have to stick to running it via the Link cable then.

I have some Corsair HS70 headphones I could use, but I'd rather just keep things simple and use the built in ones. I just want to try and avoid that whole thing of having to put a headset on and then put headphones on over the top. The built in ones would be just fine if it wasn't for this low volume issue.

 

[Madrax573]

You can run steam VR first then run ED and it works. It's how you get into VR when using the Epic version which only works from the Epic launcher... so it should be fine for the Frontier launcher.
Same goes for using VR with NMS... run steam VR first then boot it up.... give that a shot.

Can't help with the sound issue sorry as I run sound through my headset directly so I can set mixer priorities individually.

 

[VR andysonofbob]

Right, so you can't play ED over wireless on Quest 2 via VD right now unless you run it from Steam? A bit of a shame but I guess I'll just have to stick to running it via the Link cable then.

Yeah, avoid using steamVR if you can, if you have access to Oculus runtime. I have found Oculus Runtime performs better than SteamVR.
However Karl Gosling did a head to head with G2 and Q2 using SteamVR (matching the resolution as best he could) and he found zero difference in performance at similar resolutions when both are using Steam VR.

I have some Corsair HS70 headphones I could use, but I'd rather just keep things simple and use the built in ones. I just want to try and avoid that whole thing of having to put a headset on and then put headphones on over the top. The built in ones would be just fine if it wasn't for this low volume issue.

Mate, I wondered if you meant the Q2's built in speakers. They suck. Believe it or not, they are [slighly] better than Rift S. When I first got my Rift S, coming from CV1, I thought the RiftS speakers were broken they were so bad!
You need headphones or 5.1s, if you don't have neighbours to worry about.

You can run steam VR first then run ED and it works. It's how you get into VR when using the Epic version which only works from the Epic launcher... so it should be fine for the Frontier launcher.
Same goes for using VR with NMS... run steam VR first then boot it up.... give that a shot.

Hey dude!
Does that mean you can run ED wireless native? Once you have run it wirelessly through SteamVR at least once? Or do you still need to go through SteamVR?

 

[VR andysonofbob]

nvm

 

[Madrax573]

Yeah, avoid using steamVR if you can, if you have access to Oculus runtime. I have found Oculus Runtime performs better than SteamVR.
However Karl Gosling did a head to head with G2 and Q2 using SteamVR (matching the resolution as best he could) and he found zero difference in performance at similar resolutions when both are using Steam VR.

Hey dude!
Does that mean you can run ED wireless native? Once you have run it wirelessly through SteamVR at least once? Or do you still need to go through SteamVR?

I have no idea tbh. I run it through steamVR without any issues on VD... nice and smooth as well as less of a system hog than when I plug in with the link.

Not heard about running through the oculus runtime.. I just select ED from the VD menu which runs steamVR first

 

[Tantrumus]

I'm interested in how this progresses as I also own a Quest 2 and play wireless through VD and its far from perfect.

 

[Chaz]

I've found that in order to play ED through VD, I have to launch VD in my Quest and then launch Steam VR from the virtual desktop, then bring up the Frontier launcher and start the game, which will then automatically start Oculus Home. If I don't do it in that sequence then something seems to go amiss. I might be able to start ED in VR but my joystick won't work or it'll start up like it's on a 2D screen, things like that.

Also, and this is before I got my Quest 2, so I had to do this with my CV1 also, if I start Oculus Home before the Frontier launcher, the launcher will throw up an error and quit out. So I have to open the launcher first. This only started happening in the past few months though.

Still got a low audio problem when using both the link cable and using VD. It's as if I'm only getting half the available volume, although it doesn't seem quite as bad using VD, but it's still not good. Trying to get the issue sorted out via Oculus support. Can't say I'm that hopeful I'll get a solution from them, but we'll see. It's odd as Windows test pings come in loud and clear but game audio and Oculus Home sound like the volume has been cut off at less than 50%. I've checked loads of stuff trying to figure out what the hell is causing it, but I'm stumped. About the only thing I haven't tried is deleting the Oculus software off my PC and installing it all fresh. I know it's not a hardware issue, as stuff launched natively on the Quest 2 can be really loud.

 

[jack6251]

I've found that in order to play ED through VD, I have to launch VD in my Quest and then launch Steam VR from the virtual desktop, then bring up the Frontier launcher and start the game, which will then automatically start Oculus Home. If I don't do it in that sequence then something seems to go amiss. I might be able to start ED in VR but my joystick won't work or it'll start up like it's on a 2D screen, things like that.

Also, and this is before I got my Quest 2, so I had to do this with my CV1 also, if I start Oculus Home before the Frontier launcher, the launcher will throw up an error and quit out. So I have to open the launcher first. This only started happening in the past few months though.

Still got a low audio problem when using both the link cable and using VD. It's as if I'm only getting half the available volume, although it doesn't seem quite as bad using VD, but it's still not good. Trying to get the issue sorted out via Oculus support. Can't say I'm that hopeful I'll get a solution from them, but we'll see. It's odd as Windows test pings come in loud and clear but game audio and Oculus Home sound like the volume has been cut off at less than 50%. I've checked loads of stuff trying to figure out what the hell is causing it, but I'm stumped. About the only thing I haven't tried is deleting the Oculus software off my PC and installing it all fresh. I know it's not a hardware issue, as stuff launched natively on the Quest 2 can be really loud.

Thank you for your method of getting everything to work. I followed this myself and finally had success. I cannot believe how in 2021, we're having these "bang your head against a brick wall" issues. It's 2021, not 2001! Absolutely bizarre how we have all this wealth of experience of gaming and years to get things right with VR...yet it's barely fit for purpose and as for the guides on how to do things, people will be VERY lucky if the original query is answered at all without someone hijacking and derailing the entire thread which results in zero useful information. Totally unbelievable how there isn't a thorough guide, step by step and point by point...but why should there be? Surely it should be as simple as "plug in and play"? e, all of it, utter e!

Thank you, sir!

 

[Arioch]

Surely it should be as simple as "plug in and play"?

I’d say it is - until you start running third-party software via some other third-party software via a different VR ecosystem’s software - then, you might have to do a bit of fiddling around

I agree there should be some step-by-step guides - the stickies on this forum are 5 & 6 years old and probably aren’t that useful anymore. I’m probably going to move from my Rift S to a Quest 2 in the not-too-distant future, so the wireless setup info will come in handy.

 

[jack6251]

I’d say it is - until you start running third-party software via some other third-party software via a different VR ecosystem’s software - then, you might have to do a bit of fiddling around

I agree there should be some step-by-step guides - the stickies on this forum are 5 & 6 years old and probably aren’t that useful anymore. I’m probably going to move from my Rift S to a Quest 2 in the not-too-distant future, so the wireless setup info will come in handy.

Well I'd say it isn't. Following the advice from various forums will make you go in circles attempting to connect this to that and that to this in what should be common sense ways but nope. Advice for downloading drivers in Sidequest, enabling Developer Mode, Steam VR needing a driver for x, y, z reasons, controllers won't work effectively in Elite. Then there's the "it won't work if you didn't buy it from the developer website" and "you need to download it onto your Quest 2" and "for the best resolution..." and "yes Elite is playable using a cable from your PC to your Quest 2"..."No, you need wifi". Then there's the forum's and posts where people are attempting to determine speeds and nobody stays on topic, which actually is the case for most of the Q&A posts...talk about losing focus fast, wow! I, along with countless amounts of people, was not able to simply plug in my Quest 2, run Elite, even with Virtual Desktop, and have it work. It's not as simple as that for most but might be for others but why should it work OK for some people over others? It's the same software, same hardware!

...and to say you might have to do a "bit of fiddling around" is the understatement so far of 2021. Kiss goodbye to hours of your days off trying to get the Quest 2 running as you'd expect. Guides...what guides? Chaos is what it is, total pap!

 

[VR andysonofbob]

Wireless is a faff but it's not even officially supported by oculus.

Iirc, VD is [still] being made by one dude. Because it's still being developed, the dev hasn't formalised the method to stream vr wirelessly and hence the confusion:

• do you set up the WiFi hotspot using a cheap £10 5ghz dongle like me? If so, you better connect your router via ethernet if it 2.4ghz
• do you just use a decent 5ghz router? If so, you my need to spend £££ to get a good enough one.

There isn't a standard method yet. Atm oculus home games run native but all others, including elite require the SteamVR app, which is why it is a faff.

You could of course just run it wired? Far less fuss and the battery stops being an issue.

 

[jack6251]

Wireless is a faff but it's not even officially supported by oculus.

Iirc, VD is [still] being made by one dude. Because it's still being developed, the dev hasn't formalised the method to stream vr wirelessly and hence the confusion:

• do you set up the WiFi hotspot using a cheap £10 5ghz dongle like me? If so, you better connect your router via ethernet if it 2.4ghz
• do you just use a decent 5ghz router? If so, you my need to spend £££ to get a good enough one.

There isn't a standard method yet. Atm oculus home games run native but all others, including elite require the SteamVR app, which is why it is a faff.

You could of course just run it wired? Far less fuss and the battery stops being an issue.

I bought a new router with 5gHz microwave blasts because my old router couldn't even cook an egg anymore never mind run everything Quest 2 related. I now have ample cell destroying data package throwing speed and strength to dustify a couple of tall buildings. My gripe hasn't been about routers, it's more about the overall mess everything still seems to be in a long time after Quest 2 launch. Late comers like me are kinda expecting to join the party with things a little more standardised and teethed out by now since we're heading at speed into the guts of 2021.

I'm just happy at least dedicated Elite players are sharing their experiences without muddying waters too much in comparison to the murk online to solve various Quest 2 issues.

 

[Arioch]

Well I'd say it isn't.

Our experiences have differed then - with my CV1, Rift S and Quest 1 (via Link) the most amount of faff I’ve had was enabling “external sources” in the Oculus options in order to get ED working - due to me having the FDev launcher version. If I’d bought ED from the Oculus Store I wouldn’t even have to do that.

As andysonofbob mentions above, you’re using third party, still-being-developed-by-one-guy software running through a different VR system’s software to run the non-Oculus version of ED. Once you move away from native Oculus games using Link, if you complain about it not being plug&play, well...

 

[jack6251]

Our experiences have differed then - with my CV1, Rift S and Quest 1 (via Link) the most amount of faff I’ve had was enabling “external sources” in the Oculus options in order to get ED working - due to me having the FDev launcher version. If I’d bought ED from the Oculus Store I wouldn’t even have to do that.

As andysonofbob mentions above, you’re using third party, still-being-developed-by-one-guy software running through a different VR system’s software to run the non-Oculus version of ED. Once you move away from native Oculus games using Link, if you complain about it not being plug&play, well...

Of course, to prevent people from complaining about that particular thing, it'd need to be common knowledge first...so thanks for making me aware. However, the mess on the internet and my tears for that still stand. I think it'd be a huge undertaking for any one person to write thorough guides for everything, but once you start to have a few issues and begin hunting for answers, it's so difficult to find clarity at times. Maybe in a couple of years things will settle down.

 

[VR andysonofbob]

I bought a new router with 5gHz microwave blasts because my old router couldn't even cook an egg anymore never mind run everything Quest 2 related. I now have ample cell destroying data package throwing speed and strength to dustify a couple of tall buildings. My gripe hasn't been about routers, it's more about the overall mess everything still seems to be in a long time after Quest 2 launch. Late comers like me are kinda expecting to join the party with things a little more standardised and teethed out by now since we're heading at speed into the guts of 2021.

I'm just happy at least dedicated Elite players are sharing their experiences without muddying waters too much in comparison to the murk online to solve various Quest 2 issues.

Yeah.

It is a mess atm. I think the reason it is such a mess is because of how VD's lone dev, Guy Godin(?), has been releasing updates: frequent little updates.

Wireless was first introduced by Godin, as a concept, I think less than two years ago. It wasn't something you would ever want to use though because the latency was so shocking. But you could stream your desktop! So only the nerdiest of nerds cared for it. VD slowly got better and about nine months ago it became 'passable', with latency around the 40ms mark. I would say it was around here when the majority of influencers started waking up to it. But even then they were still, 'Yeah its cool, but still too much latency though :/ '. You would never want to use it for racing sims where you need the latency.

About three months ago Godin, used a bit of pixie magic and managed to lower latency to 30ms which is workable even for sim racers.

I reckon, as Google algorithm slowly prioritises the better guides, now that wireless is 'working', it will become easier to find step by step guides for the two methods I outlined above.