Struggling to find a comfortable VR rhythm

[quackinthebush]

I've been playing Elite for a few years now, and a few months ago snagged a Reverb G2 on sale. I've played a few games (MSFS2020, HL Alyx, Dirt 2) and am finding that Elite has been really hard to get comfortable. I'm constantly having to take the headset off.

For example, it is so reliant on external info and tools, I'm using my phone/tablet to look things up on Inara, forums, etc. There is no way to switch between flat and VR mode like MSFS, so if I'm doing something mundane or doing the on foot content, I'm stuck in VR or I have to restart the game.

I play Elite in the living room, so I can't have a rig setup with all the gadgets in easy reach. This also means I can't really use a tool like voice attack. Mostly I play with a gamepad and a keyboard nearby for galmap navigation. Ultimately it feels like too much of a hassle and I opt for playing on my 4k tv from the couch.

Any suggestions for a casual player that isn't interested in building a VR gaming desk/chair have a more cohesive and comfortable experience in Elite?

 

[DeckerSolo]

I've been playing Elite for a few years now, and a few months ago snagged a Reverb G2 on sale. I've played a few games (MSFS2020, HL Alyx, Dirt 2) and am finding that Elite has been really hard to get comfortable. I'm constantly having to take the headset off.

For example, it is so reliant on external info and tools, I'm using my phone/tablet to look things up on Inara, forums, etc. There is no way to switch between flat and VR mode like MSFS, so if I'm doing something mundane or doing the on foot content, I'm stuck in VR or I have to restart the game.

I play Elite in the living room, so I can't have a rig setup with all the gadgets in easy reach. This also means I can't really use a tool like voice attack. Mostly I play with a gamepad and a keyboard nearby for galmap navigation. Ultimately it feels like too much of a hassle and I opt for playing on my 4k tv from the couch.

Any suggestions for a casual player that isn't interested in building a VR gaming desk/chair have a more cohesive and comfortable experience in Elite?

Just found this, trying to understand how it works

Desktop+ on Steam

Desktop+ is a utility application for SteamVR enabling you advanced access to your desktops and windows from within VR. Pull your screen into the VR world, attach windows to your controllers, view 3D content and more.

store.steampowered.com

 

[DrinkyBird]

Just getting virtual desktops set up to the point at which I could use Discord when playing ETS2 with a friend was hard enough. For a game like Elite where having external tools is basically required for a lot of what I do in game, it's too much hassle. My solution to this (and a number of other problems...) was to just always play ED in flat screen, and use the headset for games that work better in VR.

 

[He$$eeTant]

It’s definitely a thing. I limit the use of these external tools in VR but do have access to my PC desktop from in VR - I use Oculus - but only for limited things. When I need to constantly look stuff up I compromise “my” game play and play 2D

 

[DeckerSolo]

I've got "Desktop+" working in SteamVR with my HP Reverb G2.
I can define a key to toggle the HMD view to the active desktop app, ie Browser, and the mouse and keyboard work, then toggle back to the game.
I'll post soon how I did it.

 

[rootsrat]

Try any app with OVR in the name. There a few available. I use OVR Drop and like it a lot.

 

[Faded Glory]

It's certainly not ideal, but you don't need to restart the game to temporarily enable / disable VR.

Just got to Options > Graphics, expand the 3D setting and turn the HMD option off and apply, you'll be in flatscreen and to go back to VR just reverse the change.

Personally I'll just remove my HMD to look at something on another screen or whatever (same with MSFS when I want to look at a map or chart), I just do the above if I'm going to be doing something for an extended period of time where I don't want to be in VR.

 

[Globusdiablo]

...Any suggestions for a casual player that isn't interested in building a VR gaming desk/chair have a more cohesive and comfortable experience in Elite?

It is a pickle. As a casual VR player with your described circumstances, I would make a decision regarding "immersion". If you insist on the full VR experience, you should water down your control keys (an interesting exercise), so that you can use them confidently with your HMD on your face (this is what I do). Having to remove the HMD all the time kind of negates the whole point of VR, for me at least.

 

[quackinthebush]

Thanks for all the replies. So it sounds like maybe my best option is to use a VR version of windows to access my tools without taking off the goggles.

I'm wondering if there are options like OVR that don't rely on steamvr. I'm using OpenXR toolkit and OpenComposite to improve VR performance in Elite, which completely bypasses SteamVR. Maybe something with WindowsMR (I'm using a Reverb G2)?

Id like to minimize the times I have to remove the HMD, it's really jarring to constantly remove it, and occasionally it messes up the calibration. I also would like to avoid using the mouse if I'm already using the gamepad and keyboard (one less thing to keep track of), but that might be impossible on a VR desktop.

 

[DeafPapa]

Thanks for all the replies. So it sounds like maybe my best option is to use a VR version of windows to access my tools without taking off the goggles.

I'm wondering if there are options like OVR that don't rely on steamvr. I'm using OpenXR toolkit and OpenComposite to improve VR performance in Elite, which completely bypasses SteamVR. Maybe something with WindowsMR (I'm using a Reverb G2)?

Id like to minimize the times I have to remove the HMD, it's really jarring to constantly remove it, and occasionally it messes up the calibration. I also would like to avoid using the mouse if I'm already using the gamepad and keyboard (one less thing to keep track of), but that might be impossible on a VR desktop.

This does not address the removal of HMD when doing ground missions, but you may want to look at the program EDCoPilot as an option to minimize the number of tools needed. If you have Deskplus+ or another overlay app setup, the EDCoPilot app allows you to have it as a window in VR or use on another monitor. I have stop using a number of other tools as they are provided in this one. Worth checking out. Hope this helps.

EDCoPilot