Vive vs Rift: Help me decide what to buy!

[Mosait]

But why do we need gloves/suits/controllers at all when we have technology like Kinect or Leap? Am I forgetting something here? Is it just a case of the technology is not quite there yet?

Gloves may provide haptic feedback, given several factors are not sacrificed for functionality (such as: wireless, minimized form factor for power supply and feedback transducers, and glove elasticity is not compromised too much).
While controllers are a good start, gloves that make your hands "feel" the object in space is more natural and definitely adds to immersion.

 

[dumbo]

Gloves may provide haptic feedback, given several factors are not sacrificed for functionality (such as: wireless, minimized form factor for power supply and feedback transducers, and glove elasticity is not compromised too much).
While controllers are a good start, gloves that make your hands "feel" the object in space is more natural and definitely adds to immersion.

Gloves on their own are not the answer - they can't produce weight, and we won't be faking solid objects with any technology available.

Ideally, you'd want to combine hand tracking with a motion controller - here's a very cool demo of leap motion + vive dev controllers (also showing the limitations, and the crazy vive tracking):
https://imgur.com/JsV5i9k

That type of solution seems viable, although you do have to look at your hands in order for them to exist, and there's no way to do haptics. There are some haptic gloves in development, but who knows when they will release or the pricing etc.

 

[Mosait]

Gloves on their own are not the answer - they can't produce weight, and we won't be faking solid objects with any technology available.

Ideally, you'd want to combine hand tracking with a motion controller - here's a very cool demo of leap motion + vive dev controllers (also showing the limitations, and the crazy vive tracking):
https://imgur.com/JsV5i9k

That type of solution seems viable, although you do have to look at your hands in order for them to exist, and there's no way to do haptics. There are some haptic gloves in development, but who knows when they will release or the pricing etc.

You are correct that you can't reproduce weight, which goes in favor of using controllers. Although, I'm sure it is possible to trick the brain into "feeling" weight. I am just hypothesizing here, but I'd be surprised if there isn't already research out there regarding this.
Of course, it won't be the same as lifting 50 kg, but that's not what we are trying to achieve at this point (at least not until holodecks become a "reality"). For now, I think the controllers are the best option. I think the future is looking bright for VR, and I'm glad to be a part if it.

BTW, that is pretty awesome with the hand and controller tracking. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Soda Popinski]

Anyone trying to decide between the two should really watch Tested's comparison put out a few days ago.
[video=youtube;EBieKwa2ID0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBieKwa2ID0[/video]

That said, if you're only interested in Elite: Dangerous, I'd strongly recommend the Rift. It's more comfortable, great for wearing for hours on end, Async Time Warp makes Elite buttery smooth, and slightly cheaper if you don't plan to get the Touch Controllers (who am I kidding, of course you're going to get them). Plus, War Thunder guys just announced they'll be fixing Rift Support soon.

I've got a Rift on pre-order (was March, now May), and got the Vive in the meanwhile (I blame CMDR Shazbot for giving me the idea of getting both). I got so use to the hand controller's, when I was playing Elite the other day, I instinctively raised up my hand to get a closer look at the textures on the suit.

I actually miss the nose hole from the DK2. When using the Vive, I use a little handheld Lenovo remote keyboard. Using that and my phone, was much easier with the DK2 through the nose hole. Can't really do that with the Vive. Edit: I usually used my phone to display a spreadsheet of commodity prices when doing trading.

If you're thinking about going with the Vive, but are worried about Oculus exclusive, at least for now there's a nifty solution. CrossVR posted on GitHub a wrapper / hack to let you use an HTC Vive in the Oculus Store. People are really enjoying DreamDeck and Lucky's Tale with their Vives.

 

[Kremator]

I have the Rift and I can tell you that it is amazing for ED. No issues at all. Perfect to setup and fly. NEVER been happier !

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

I'm also defending the roomscale VIVE without actually buying one.

I really appreciate this statement. When it comes to my personal preference or expectations for each of them, I've actually argued as someone more inclined towards the CV1.

As an old chain smoking drunk, I certainly wont spend 2000 hours jumping around my apartment as opposed to the perfectly comfortable and mostly seated experience I've had with the DK2 in ED with a HOTAS/Pedals/M/KB combination.

I don't see any point in adding a camera or chaperone. Simply because I could do anything I wanted to do without them during the past 2000 hours in VR without even thinking about it or ever bumping into anything.

Judging from actual hardware reviews, I might be more inclined towards the Rift and I might still get one once there are enough hacks around to use it to its full potential without running OH.

 

[Mark D]

http://kotaku.com/htc-vive-vs-oculus-rift-the-comparison-we-had-to-make-1771122831

 

[Ziljan]

I'm gonna say neither. I'm waiting for the 3.0 or even 4.0 version that is wireless, weighs 100g, has 4K, 110 deg viewing angle, and is compatible with everything. And that doesn't make you sign away your artistic rights of ownership just to use it.

 

[derjaster]

I'm gonna say neither. I'm waiting for the 3.0 or even 4.0 version that is wireless, weighs 100g, has 4K, 110 deg viewing angle, and is compatible with everything. And that doesn't make you sign away your artistic rights of ownership just to use it.

Very good points. I kinda feel the same. I like what's possible by now and even the oculus dk1 was mindblowimg at the time, but it's not quite there yet for me. I'll wait for the next generation at least.

 

[prowl]

I am lucky enough to have both the Rift and the Vive now. Elite is much better in in the Rift overall. Better Weighted and way more comfortable. It does seem like the Vive was kinda Rushed in that department. However for overall VR then Vive has it for the moment. The Controllers in things like Fantastic contraption and Modbox just make you smile and when you lift you arms and there is a sword and Shield, man it's a good feeling and it's actually exciting! Some fat gamers are going to get fit with these!

Elite VR thoughts.
Rift is sharper for text.
The slightly larger FOV with the Vive is a little pointless when the text just get blurry because of the Fresnel lenses. I think it produces more god rays.
The weight, or more to the point the balance of the vive mean you will be resetting it more often.
The Elite holoscreens need to be customisable so you can move them away... unlike the DK2 we can read them easily but they are so IN YOUR FACE now.
Less Wires of the Rift is great! The Vive has so many it's insane. It has a breakout box!! Like the DK1! Why!?

I think the Rift with the Touch controllers will be incredible. Don't forget they will come with a second camera and will increase the standing / Room sized capabilities. Elite needs to get involved with the Controllers too. A separate VR control scheme with Gestures, voice and other inputs may work well.

pre facebook when oculus were courting investment there was a leaked slide with a concept Release Rift with dual cameras on the front. It's a real shame they dropped that as the Chaperone feature on the vive is really handy and stops you from walking in to walls or swiping your kids pictures off the mantle.

 

[ntsarb]

Hi.

I purchased the HTC Vive and I'm very pleased with its room-scale capability, as well as with the lighthouse technology. The two lighthouses:

* do not need to connect to the PC, just power.
* they are located at the corners of the room, to provide full room coverage, which I doubt is technically feasible with two USB cameras.
* they can be used by ANY number of Headsets or Controllers. They only emit lasers and IR light. It is the controller, which detects and transmits its location to the PC.

Also, I'm pleased with the length of the cable.

However:

* I am unhappy with lenses of the VIVE, because they blur up to 20% of the image on each side (left-right) - this is not an issue on the upper and lower edges of the lenses, significantly reducing the useful & effective field of view, and they suffer from visible colour aberration. They are made of plastic, they are cheap.
* as you said, the VIVE headset and its longer cable are significantly heavier.
* the controllers are also significantly heavier and you do feel it after a while.
* to take full advantage of the lighthouses, you need to install them permanent on your walls and the power cords are ugly. In the longer term, redecoration of the walls is unavoidable...

Does the camera on the VIVE make a difference? I don't think so. It caused issues with my headset's tracking and HTC's advice is to deactivate it, hence, the camera is currently adding to the cost of the headset without real value. EDIT: There's a configuration option to decrease the frame rate of the camera from 60fps to 30fps, to reduce the workload on the USB connection.

I wish OculusVR had been clearer about the cost of the upcoming controllers and secondary camera, as well as about room-scale VR. My concern is that the Oculus solution may eventually cost as much if not more than the VIVE.

I hope this helps.

 

[Arubeto]

I'm gonna say neither. I'm waiting for the 3.0 or even 4.0 version that is wireless, weighs 100g, has 4K, 110 deg viewing angle, and is compatible with everything. And that doesn't make you sign away your artistic rights of ownership just to use it.

I wanted a HMD for a long time, but resisted the urge to buy a DK 2 and convinced myself to wait for the CV1 because of the better resolution and since I belief a Consumer Version will receive better and more official support in case of problems. So although I agree with your points, I already waited too long. If I'd prioritize the "The next iteration of the hardware will be better than the current, therefore I'll wait" logic, I'd never buy any version and end up waiting forever

 

[Arubeto]

I am lucky enough to have both the Rift and the Vive now. Elite is much better in in the Rift overall. Better Weighted and way more comfortable. It does seem like the Vive was kinda Rushed in that department. However for overall VR then Vive has it for the moment. The Controllers in things like Fantastic contraption and Modbox just make you smile and when you lift you arms and there is a sword and Shield, man it's a good feeling and it's actually exciting! Some fat gamers are going to get fit with these!

That's good that someone who owns both comes to the thread, thanks. What do you think about the front-mounted camera of the Vive? Is it helpful when playing Elite? I have mapped most of my actions to the buttons of my joystick, but there are still a few that are still mapped to keys on my keyboard, so I am very interested in how well the Vive's camera works to swiftly switch it on to use your keyboard while playing ED.

Does the "nose gap" of the Rift distract you when playing ED? I am a little concerned it might let in to much light. What are your impressions about that?

(I am very interested in room-scale VR, too, but I am willing to wait for the Touch, if that then delivers a similar experience to what the Vive provides right now. At the moment, I want the HMD mainly for ED)

Does the camera on the VIVE make a difference? I don't think so. It caused issues with my headset's tracking and HTC's advice is to deactivate it, hence, the camera is currently adding to the cost of the headset without real value.

That's very interesting. Apart from the ergonomics and weight differences, the Vive's camera is the main reason for me why I am not yet 100% convinced the Rift is the better option.

When it didn't interfere with your HMDs tracking, was it helpful to see your keyboard through the camera without the need to take of the headset?

 

[Zeeman]

I'm gonna say neither. I'm waiting for the 3.0 or even 4.0 version that is wireless, weighs 100g, has 4K, 110 deg viewing angle, and is compatible with everything. And that doesn't make you sign away your artistic rights of ownership just to use it.

Amen.

Z...

 

[bitstorm]

If you preorder, Vive is May, Rift is August.

Can;t help thinking this might end up being the decider for me.

 

[ntsarb]

What do you think about the front-mounted camera of the Vive? Is it helpful when playing Elite? I have mapped most of my actions to the buttons of my joystick, but there are still a few that are still mapped to keys on my keyboard, so I am very interested in how well the Vive's camera works to swiftly switch it on to use your keyboard while playing ED.

That's very interesting. Apart from the ergonomics and weight differences, the Vive's camera is the main reason for me why I am not yet 100% convinced the Rift is the better option.

When it didn't interfere with your HMDs tracking, was it helpful to see your keyboard through the camera without the need to take of the headset?

The image of the VIVE camera is processed. It does edge detection in monochrome, to outline the objects like if they're made of neon tubes.

While sitted, you can see your keyboard but you can't read the letters on the keys. If you know by heart where all letters are located in relation to the <space> and <enter> keys that you'll be able to distinguish, you'll do fine. I can't do that, even though I can blind type.

To read the keys from the camera, you'd have to get your headset at 5cm distance from the keyboard. It spoils the experience.

Does the "nose gap" of the Rift distract you when playing ED? I am a little concerned it might let in to much light. What are your impressions about that?

I've tried the Oculus Rift at Rezzed 2016 and I was unhappy with light bleeding under my nose. I owned a DK2 and I was very much annoyed with that, hence it was a major concern for me. However, I was very impressed by how much more comfortable the Oculus Rift feels compared to the Vive, most likely due to the weight factor I think (headset + cabling).

Clearly, we can't have it all from the very first commercial versions of VR headsets. However, I think they are still amazing, very much worth their price. The experience of being immersed in the game is just amazing, even in low resolution, even with bad aliasing! I was so much excited only when the first 3D games came to exist...

 

[Kremator]

Just spent a good four hours in ED on my Rift and I can say that this takes the game to another level! Sitting in my T-9 just on the launchpad for ages just looking all around me - the stations are massive in VR!. Getting out of the letterbox is really simple and as for combat .. just amazing. The Rift is amazingly light and you forget that it is there - you ARE in the game! I'd recommend the Rift to anyone without a shadow of a doubt.

 

[ntsarb]

Amen.

Z...

Wireless VR won't come to the PC anytime soon simply because there's not sufficient free wireless spectrum to provide the required capacity for low latency, high resolution video streaming.

AMD is trying to develop a headset with the computer embedded in the headset but they will never achive the graphics quality delivered by a desktop PC.

However, it does make sense waiting for the next iteration of VR headsets, if price is deterrent. As demand increases, mass production will lead to lower costs and retail prices.

 

[vanfanel]

If you preorder, Vive is May, Rift is August.

Can;t help thinking this might end up being the decider for me.

Well for US and UK right now Vive is June

 

[bitstorm]

Well for US and UK right now Vive is June

Ah mine was May (ordered last week).

Can I ask a question about the software.

So say with Vive or Rift do I have to run these games through the store?

Like with ED it *has* to be run through Steam or the Oculus store, or is it all just like another game where you're not tied to a store.