Vive, first impressions

[Ankor Grammaten]

Today I went down to the Microsoft store to try out the Vive. I have to say I was a little disappointed, and welcome comments from all you satisfied users. Let me short cut some questions at this stage by saying that I have no idea what hardware or software they were using.

They had me try it standing up, with a number of mini "games" like an underwater scene with a whale swimming by and an fps thing like an arcade shooter. I was aiming at getting an impression of the visual experience, so spent most of my time looking round rather than trying to master the "games".

It was a great improvement over a monitor, certainly, and the 3D effect was excellent. There was no jerkiness in the picture. The negatives follow.

I didn't like standing up, I felt unbalanced. That wouldn't matter for "seated" games.

The picture seemed "grainy" at times. In the under water scene some fish were detailed and others fuzzy.

I was very aware of the edges of the headset. It was like looking through binoculars, but with a wider view. That affected the immersion for me. I'm now wondering if it is best to keep my eyes pointed straight ahead and just move my head around.

I felt a little nauseous afterwards, but I think that's something I might get used to, it wasn't much. The headset was uncomfortable, but I imagine some adjustments would help.

Obviously, this is very much of a first impression under far from perfect conditions and I'm looking for feedback to balance it.

There doesn't seem to be a supply problem, they said I could walk out with one (and without ~$800). I would need a new GPU also (not cheap) though my PC seems to be up to speed for everything else.

I'm going to try the Oculus next if I can find somewhere to do so.

Another thing I think I would need is a HOTAS (currently using an Xbox style controller, but I still need the keyboard for some things). I may get that anyway. Any recommendations?

 

[LAB RAT]

Thanks for sharing your experience, the grainy effect is mentioned by quite a few vive owners, I'm about to order the oculus as the jumping around thing is not for me but the visual effects are, also I just read that HTC have lost over £150 million this year so far, not a good sign.

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

I didn't like standing up, I felt unbalanced. That wouldn't matter for "seated" games.

Although I don't feel unbalanced whilst standing up I'm not to fond of it either, but that's mainly because I don't feel like walking around for hours after work.

It certainly is nice to have once proper games are released for a standing experience. Thus far there are either graphically decent experiences like The Blue (which you tried) that don't offer any gameplay or indie games looking terrible for the most part.

I'd say Fallout 4 VR will be the first game that could get me out of my seat for prolongued periods of time. We'll see in 2017.

The picture seemed "grainy" at times. In the under water scene some fish were detailed and others fuzzy.

I was very aware of the edges of the headset. It was like looking through binoculars, but with a wider view. That affected the immersion for me. I'm now wondering if it is best to keep my eyes pointed straight ahead and just move my head around.

I felt a little nauseous afterwards, but I think that's something I might get used to, it wasn't much. The headset was uncomfortable, but I imagine some adjustments would help.

Obviously, this is very much of a first impression under far from perfect conditions and I'm looking for feedback to balance it.

Some of the issues you mention can be mitigated by properly calibrating it for you, however it has a couple of design flaws. The distance between eyes and lenses is far too large, unnecessarily decreasing the FOV.
The Headstraps are so absuredly short they left me wondering if HTC accidentally used biometric data obtained from microcephalics.

HTC are aware of these issues and release an updated version later this year, so I'd advise to wait for that.

I'm going to try the Oculus next if I can find somewhere to do so.

Although it's closer to the eye, it has an even lower FOV. A more narrow FOV results in decreased angular minutes, thus the resolution appears higher.

Another thing I think I would need is a HOTAS (currently using an Xbox style controller, but I still need the keyboard for some things). I may get that anyway. Any recommendations?

I'd recommend a TM Warthog but wouldn't call it a necessity. It's precise and offers a lot of functionality, however I still use M/KB whenver I'm using station menus.

Using a keyboard is easy and becomes second nature after ~30 minutes in VR.

 

[Full_Ninja]

I didn't like standing up, I felt unbalanced. That wouldn't matter for "seated" games.

The picture seemed "grainy" at times. In the under water scene some fish were detailed and others fuzzy.

I was very aware of the edges of the headset. It was like looking through binoculars, but with a wider view. That affected the immersion for me. I'm now wondering if it is best to keep my eyes pointed straight ahead and just move my head around.

I felt a little nauseous afterwards, but I think that's something I might get used to, it wasn't much. The headset was uncomfortable, but I imagine some adjustments would help.

The only time I've felt unbalanced was when I set games setting to high for my computer to keep 90hz. It may have been the computer they were using or it was having issues.

The first time I put on my VIVE i was also very aware of the edge of the headset/FOV. Then I noticed it shipped with the lens adjusted all the way out. I adjusted the lens all the way in using the nobs on the side of the HMD and that changed the FOV drastically.

I also thought the headset was uncomfortable when I fist put it on. Then I adjusted the top strap so the back of the head straps could hug just under the back of my skull.

 

[[VR] Frank_G]

I am afraid of heights and the Rift demo almost made me stumble. After two or three weeks, the nausea went away. Rushing canyons, dropping off cliffs in an SRV and doing other fancy flying is no problem any more.

I tried the Vive once myself. Compared to the Rift, it has a slightly wider field of view, but more grainy picture. For me, the Rift feels sharper, is lighter to wear (dont use glasses, though - people with glasses reported to be better suited with a Vive) and the overall handling is much more thought through with the Rift... Integrated good headphones and imo better cable layout is also a point for more comfort. What the best HMD is, only youu can tell. They are technically head to head with a set of tiny differences that can score differently for each user.

And be prepared to go all the way - there is no casual VR these days.

 

[Thespen Tombs]

Another thing I think I would need is a HOTAS (currently using an Xbox style controller, but I still need the keyboard for some things). I may get that anyway. Any recommendations?

I find the game much betetr with a HOTAS but if the only reason you going to one is the keyboard I would recommend "Voice Attack" you should be able to use that to activate anything not no your controller; in fact if you are going the VR route I'd say it's a necessity [cool]

 

[Ankor Grammaten]

I find the game much betetr with a HOTAS but if the only reason you going to one is the keyboard I would recommend "Voice Attack" you should be able to use that to activate anything not no your controller; in fact if you are going the VR route I'd say it's a necessity [cool]

No it's not the only reason. Basically I want to take my hand/s off the controller as little as possible, not at all ideally. That means plenty of buttons to cover all the functions I use when in flight. Other stuff, like adjusting options can be mouse/kb, no problem. What advantages do you find the HOTAS gives? Better control? Where do you place the controllers? I'm thinking my desk might be a little high for comfort.

I don't think my gf would appreciate my shouting commands at the computer while she is in the same room. I use a headset rather than speakers for that reason.

I don't want to shell out at lot of money for my first trial, so no warthog for me (though I'm sure it's excellent)! I see there's a new Thrustmaster combination (T. something?) coming out in September for around $150. I may try that.

 

[requ1em]

Today I went down to the Microsoft store to try out the Vive. I have to say I was a little disappointed, and welcome comments from all you satisfied users. Let me short cut some questions at this stage by saying that I have no idea what hardware or software they were using.

They had me try it standing up, with a number of mini "games" like an underwater scene with a whale swimming by and an fps thing like an arcade shooter. I was aiming at getting an impression of the visual experience, so spent most of my time looking round rather than trying to master the "games".

It was a great improvement over a monitor, certainly, and the 3D effect was excellent. There was no jerkiness in the picture. The negatives follow.

I didn't like standing up, I felt unbalanced. That wouldn't matter for "seated" games.

The picture seemed "grainy" at times. In the under water scene some fish were detailed and others fuzzy.

I was very aware of the edges of the headset. It was like looking through binoculars, but with a wider view. That affected the immersion for me. I'm now wondering if it is best to keep my eyes pointed straight ahead and just move my head around.

I felt a little nauseous afterwards, but I think that's something I might get used to, it wasn't much. The headset was uncomfortable, but I imagine some adjustments would help.

Obviously, this is very much of a first impression under far from perfect conditions and I'm looking for feedback to balance it.

There doesn't seem to be a supply problem, they said I could walk out with one (and without ~$800). I would need a new GPU also (not cheap) though my PC seems to be up to speed for everything else.

I'm going to try the Oculus next if I can find somewhere to do so.

Another thing I think I would need is a HOTAS (currently using an Xbox style controller, but I still need the keyboard for some things). I may get that anyway. Any recommendations?

I had a vive and sent it back as the quality was not there for me. I then bough an oculus and I am much happier. For me it is a superior product, just a bit more refined than the vive. For elite the oculus wins hands down as it has a better resolution in elite than the vive. Once the touch controllers come out it will be a more complete package.

I would recommend watching UKrifter and his review on YouTube. It really helped me a lot and I would backup what he says now that I have tried both.

But with anything like this it's a very personal experience.