Why I am not buying a CV1.

[Abil Midena]

Why I am not buying a CV1. The list is in no particular order.

(yeah, I know no one cares, but maybe someone will see something listed here they have not considered, and it will help them make a better decision for themselves.)

1. Return policy, from the Oculus forums, is on a case by case basis. That means you can get a return, if Oculus feels like giving one. No mention on following laws regarding returns. No data on a restocking fee.
2. I can’t test it properly to determine if the games I want to play with it make me sick, or look bad compared to non-VR version. I don’t care about resolution, just how it looks. (also, see #1). 5 min testing at Best Buy (when/if available) isn’t going to solve this.
3. You MUST sign in to Oculus Home to access/buy CV1 games/content (obviously not true for ED, right?) and to access the calibration menu. This is really bad. For God’s sake, we have/had: Windows for gaming live (dead), Origin, Uplay, etc, etc. required just to be able to play a particular game. When will they learn?
4. Most of the current content is casual gaming at best. Notable exceptions are ED, Valkarie,and Project Cars. (see #2). ED and Project Cars is almost enough for me to not care about this one.
5. Graphics in VR are 3 yrs behind where we are (until hardware manufacturers allow software devs to close the gap).
6. Included audio headphones. You can detach and not use, but there’s no audio pass through connection on the headset, so you’re going to need a 4m long cord to use your current headset. I’m unsure about the experience of a CV1 in a room that has a surround (5.1/7.1) stereo system in it. Do they sync correctly as you move around? A concern is positional audio…I want to know something is behind/left of me by HEARING that it is behind/left of me.
7. Even though a i7 2600k performance exceeds the CV1 required modern i5 (i5 4590?), the compatibility tool doesn’t pass the 2600K. No way to tell if the 2600k is good enough without buying/trying (see #1).
8. There will likely never be a FPS in VR (apparently sitting while in VR you are running around generates nausea/sickness).

Two of my main sources of info are:
1. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/oculus-rift-virtual-reality-hmd,4506.html
2. http://www.anandtech.com/show/10149/hands-on-with-the-retail-oculus-rift

TL;DR: Don’t get me wrong, I want to love VR. I want to want to buy a CV1/Vive. It’s just that every time I read about them, I find stuff like the above list that completely turns me off.

 

[cherbert]

Graphics in VR are 3 yrs behind where we are (until hardware manufacturers allow software devs to close the gap).

VR is not all about graphics. If you try VR you will see that the immersive experience of actually feeling like you are sat in a spaceship and sense of scale outways any negatives of a lower quality display and you (like many) will find there is no going back to a monitor to play Elite Dangerous.

3. You MUST sign in to Oculus Home to access/buy CV1 games/content (obviously not true for ED, right?) and to access the calibration menu. This is really bad. For God’s sake, we have/had: Windows for gaming live (dead), Origin, Uplay, etc, etc. required just to be able to play a particular game. When will they learn?

This is simply not true. You can enable apps from unknown sources within the Oculus Home settings. The Oculus Rift is also fully compatible with SteamVR.

6. Included audio headphones. You can detach and not use, but there’s no audio pass through connection on the headset, so you’re going to need a 4m long cord to use your current headset. I’m unsure about the experience of a CV1 in a room that has a surround (5.1/7.1) stereo system in it. Do they sync correctly as you move around? A concern is positional audio…I want to know something is behind/left of me by HEARING that it is behind/left of me.

You need a headset for VR for the best immersive experience and to achieve positional audio. I have a wireless surround sound headset so don't need a passthrough. Not sure why you would want one anyway - you are tethered by an HDMI cable so I don't think a headset cable is going to make things much worse.

 

[Lestenio]

Why I am not buying a CV1. The list is in no particular order.

TBH your list is pretty weak. Have you tried VR? To try is to love.

2) Testing is always a problem. My rule of thumb with avoiding feeling sick is don't play games where the character is designed to move about a lot seated.
4) I'm not overwhelmed by the launch titles either. But there is some good stuff in the mix and hopefully more AAA titles to follow.
6) From what I have read the headphones are meant to be awesome. Better than what most audiophiles have for music

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

I've pre-ordered and #1 makes me nervous, as is a lack of a clear warranty policy. Now that it's launch day, these things really should have been made clearer by now, this is very poor.

 

[cherbert]

I've pre-ordered and #1 makes me nervous, as is a lack of a clear warranty policy. Now that it's launch day, these things really should have been made clearer by now, this is very poor.

Are you from the UK? They have to comply with UK distant selling laws regardless of what they do or don't say in their terms. Also did you buy it using a Credit Card? That will give you another level of protection.

 

[Abil Midena]

VR is not all about graphics. If you try VR you will see that the immersive experience of actually feeling like you are sat in a spaceship and sense of scale outways any negatives of a lower quality display and you (like many) will find there is no going back to a monitor to play Elite Dangerous.



This is simply not true. You can enable apps from unknown sources within the Oculus Home settings. The Oculus Rift is also fully compatible with SteamVR.



You need a headset for VR for the best immersive experience and to achieve positional audio. I have a wireless surround sound headset so don't need a passthrough. Not sure why you would want one anyway - you are tethered by an HDMI cable so I don't think a headset cable is going to make things much worse.

Necessary graphics quality is a subjective thing. How do the menus (in cockpit) look in the CV1? I was mainly pointing out what the article said that I referenced.

Could you point me to where it shows/says that you can access the cal for the CV1 without having/using Home? Same for Steam VR. Thanks.

Why would I need a head set? I have a 5.1 system set up in my room. Positional audio is awesome. All I was saying about the 4m cord (same length as CV1 cord) was that you'd need one, unless you have wireless like yours, to use your current headset.

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Are you from the UK? They have to comply with UK distant selling laws regardless of what they do or don't say in their terms. Also did you buy it using a Credit Card? That will give you another level of protection.

Yes and yes. But I'm one of those strange people that likes to read the small print (especially if I'm spending £530). For example, if I find it gives me nausea, can I return it after 14 days (or whatever it is), how long do I have to return it quibble-free and who pays for the return shipping? How many years is the warranty?

 

[Drakfyre]

I've pre-ordered and #1 makes me nervous, as is a lack of a clear warranty policy. Now that it's launch day, these things really should have been made clearer by now, this is very poor.

Honestly, the lack of a clear and solid return policy notes strike me as a "cover our ass" scenario during launch. What I mean is this: the manufacturing capacity of the company is limited. During this launch window, they are building a unit, shipping a unit, as fast as possible to break through their backorders. What does this mean? It means they can't promise a solid, fast return policy. So they've made few promises on returns.

I have a feeling they'll still TRY to get your returns handled, and I doubt they'll have a return fee. But the timeline on returns is going to naturally be quite long.

So keep care of your Rift for the next few months!

 

[marwood82]

Could you point me to where it shows/says that you can access the cal for the CV1 without having/using Home? Same for Steam VR. Thanks.

is making you run the rift software to calibrate the rift that unreasonable?

Why would I need a head set? I have a 5.1 system set up in my room. Positional audio is awesome. All I was saying about the 4m cord (same length as CV1 cord) was that you'd need one, unless you have wireless like yours, to use your current headset.

you need headphones for vr(a decent set too, surround, 3d etc). you may have a great stereo system, having something that cuts out the sounds of the outside world really adds to the immersion.

 

[cherbert]

Why would I need a head set? I have a 5.1 system set up in my room. Positional audio is awesome. All I was saying about the 4m cord (same length as CV1 cord) was that you'd need one, unless you have wireless like yours, to use your current headset.

It doesn't matter how fantastic your sound system is. We all have 5.1 surround systems. In VR you are covering your eyes to fool your brain. The same goes for sound. You need to cover your ears as well as your eyes and give your brain the illusion of being somewhere else.

If you are gonna keep finding strange excuses why you aren't buying into VR then you might as well forget it for the next 10 years because thats how long I think it will be before you will be satisfied with the technology.

You seem to be posting here to be convinced otherwise so i suggest you really need to try and experience VR somehow and stop looking for the problems with it. Its early technology and many of us here probably bought into it just for this game and this game alone.

I do agree with you that seated experiences are where VR works best. FPS games can make you feel ill because your brain can't understand why you are running and your legs aren't moving.

 

[Dozer.k.a.o.]

6) From what I have read the headphones are meant to be awesome. Better than what most audiophiles have for music

I have read that the noise isolation is really poor, the design remember me one of those old walkman headphones.. have tried many and because my ear's shape i only feel comfortable those that cover the whole ear. Again testing is an important factor for some of us.

i would add a couple of things to the op list:

9. no option for those who have glasses... unacceptable for a such expensive device.
10. the exclusivity of les for vive/rift... clearly a thing that doesn't help at all the adoption of VR by the masses.

 

[drkaii]

You are going to regret it

 

[Abil Midena]

is making you run the rift software to calibrate the rift that unreasonable?



you need headphones for vr(a decent set too, surround, 3d etc). you may have a great stereo system, having something that cuts out the sounds of the outside world really adds to the immersion.

Anything that makes me have ANOTHER login/pass when it's NOT NECESSARY is bad.

I don't think they stock CV1 headphones are going to or meant to "cut out the sounds of the outside world". Although I agree that doing so adds to immersion.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

You are going to regret it

Well, I didn't say I will NEVER buy one

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

It doesn't matter how fantastic your sound system is. We all have 5.1 surround systems. In VR you are covering your eyes to fool your brain. The same goes for sound. You need to cover your ears as well as your eyes and give your brain the illusion of being somewhere else.

If you are gonna keep finding strange excuses why you aren't buying into VR then you might as well forget it for the next 10 years because thats how long I think it will be before you will be satisfied with the technology.

You seem to be posting here to be convinced otherwise so i suggest you really need to try and experience VR somehow and stop looking for the problems with it. Its early technology and many of us here probably bought into it just for this game and this game alone.

I do agree with you that seated experiences are where VR works best. FPS games can make you feel ill because your brain can't understand why you are running and your legs aren't moving.

I'll ignore the trollish parts of this, and just say that I did state why I'm posting in the OP. Please read.

 

[drkaii]

Well, I didn't say I will NEVER buy one

Ok but watch out, no idea how many they are going to produce, unlikely unlimited, and that means one day prices will skyrocket (see ebay, DK2), and if it is unlimited you could be looking at a long waiting list...

 

[Lestenio]

I have read that the noise isolation is really poor, the design remember me one of those old walkman headphones.. have tried many and because my ear's shape i only feel comfortable those that cover the whole ear. Again testing is an important factor for some of us.

i would add a couple of things to the op list:

9. no option for those who have glasses... unacceptable for a such expensive device.
10. the exclusivity of les for vive/rift... clearly a thing that doesn't help at all the adoption of VR by the masses.

cant add further comment to the sound as I haven't tried the CV1, I can only reiterate what others have said.

9. With the DK2 my eye lashes constantly left smears on the lenses. I tried with glasses once but had no success. The CV1 is meant it be more glasses friendly however.

10. Exclusivity is a bit of a pain, but it's a limited thing for launch.

You should try to get a demo. Not sure where in the world you are but, in the UK, PC World have the Vive in most stores to demo.

 

[Caspar]

I play DK2 with glasses on. It's no big deal for me (and I have also played with contact lenses).

Even the DK2 is too good to give up at the moment. The CV1 will be amazing.

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

...in the UK, PC World have the Vive in most stores to demo.

Don't think that's accurate - they are only available for demo in 5 stores initially.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Your choice of course but having experienced my dk2 for 18 months I must say I think your reasons are wrong..point 1 for a start.

Cv1 Warranty is 2 years in Europe 1 year in rest of world

 

[HeavyGroovez]

Why I am not buying a CV1. The list is in no particular order.

(yeah, I know no one cares, but maybe someone will see something listed here they have not considered, and it will help them make a better decision for themselves.)

1. Return policy, from the Oculus forums, is on a case by case basis. That means you can get a return, if Oculus feels like giving one. No mention on following laws regarding returns. No data on a restocking fee.
2. I can’t test it properly to determine if the games I want to play with it make me sick, or look bad compared to non-VR version. I don’t care about resolution, just how it looks. (also, see #1). 5 min testing at Best Buy (when/if available) isn’t going to solve this.
3. You MUST sign in to Oculus Home to access/buy CV1 games/content (obviously not true for ED, right?) and to access the calibration menu. This is really bad. For God’s sake, we have/had: Windows for gaming live (dead), Origin, Uplay, etc, etc. required just to be able to play a particular game. When will they learn?
4. Most of the current content is casual gaming at best. Notable exceptions are ED, Valkarie,and Project Cars. (see #2). ED and Project Cars is almost enough for me to not care about this one.
5. Graphics in VR are 3 yrs behind where we are (until hardware manufacturers allow software devs to close the gap).
6. Included audio headphones. You can detach and not use, but there’s no audio pass through connection on the headset, so you’re going to need a 4m long cord to use your current headset. I’m unsure about the experience of a CV1 in a room that has a surround (5.1/7.1) stereo system in it. Do they sync correctly as you move around? A concern is positional audio…I want to know something is behind/left of me by HEARING that it is behind/left of me.
7. Even though a i7 2600k performance exceeds the CV1 required modern i5 (i5 4590?), the compatibility tool doesn’t pass the 2600K. No way to tell if the 2600k is good enough without buying/trying (see #1).
8. There will likely never be a FPS in VR (apparently sitting while in VR you are running around generates nausea/sickness).

Two of my main sources of info are:
1. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/oculus-rift-virtual-reality-hmd,4506.html
2. http://www.anandtech.com/show/10149/hands-on-with-the-retail-oculus-rift

TL;DR: Don’t get me wrong, I want to love VR. I want to want to buy a CV1/Vive. It’s just that every time I read about them, I find stuff like the above list that completely turns me off.

Dude forget reading about VR. Just buy one and enter the magic realm.

One session in Project Cars will change your gaming life forever. It really is mind blowing.

 

[cmdr awesome]

It's so easy to spot the peanut gallery from those who have tried it.

Really, its awesome. You have legal rights to return goods you order from the internet. If you consider the hardware insufficient or the product too experimental then go back to the future where you belong!

Right now is the best time that VR has ever had. If it isn't good enough for you just wait.